In reaction to the International Year of Sanitation 2008 a group of NGOs from the Working Group for water of the ‘Forum für Umwelt und Entwicklung’ presented a policy document on “Environmental friendly sanitation” at a sensational press conference at Berlin’s main station, organised by the GTO.
In the Working Group, poor networking among German aid organisations that deal with water, sanitation and hygiene (the so-called WASH-sector) was discussed in detail. This culminated in the idea to establish such a network.
Via a survey of the respective aid organisations it was determined Who? Where? What? and On what level? things are going to get done. The survey showed that almost all of the 38 NGOs questioned would greatly welcome the establishment of a network for the sector.
At the first networking meeting representatives of eleven of these organizations were introduced to the study and everyone agreed that a national network was a necessary step towards promoting the issue. Thus, the foundation for a German WASH-network was laid.
The second meeting focused on the establishment of the network. In addition to the already existing partnerships with the 'Forum für Umwelt und Entwicklung' and 'End Water Poverty', an international network with 185 partners in 55 countries, the support of the umbrella organization of development NGOs in Germany (VENRO) and of the ‘Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit’ (GIZ) was garnered. By identifying common work areas and in developing a vision and objectives the network took concrete shape.
On June 20th 2011 it was finally done: At the head office of 'Malteser International' in Cologne the first German NGO Network for Water, Sanitation and Hygiene - the German WASH Network - was founded. Its 15 members want to improve and professionalise the cooperation in the sector in order to effectively contribute toward implementing the basic human right of access to water and basic sanitation.
"Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for All!"
