Water Mission Awarded Grant Supporting Disaster Response Readiness from The Grundfos Foundation

The Grundfos Foundation Supports Water Mission’s Disaster Response Program

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C., June 11, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The Grundfos Foundation has provided a DKK 5 million ($725,000 USD) grant to Water Mission, a Christian engineering nonprofit, to support the continued expansion of Water Mission’s disaster response program. The grant will improve Water Mission’s readiness and capacity to quickly and efficiently respond to multiple disasters simultaneously.

Water Mission’s Experience in Responding to Natural Disasters

• Water Mission has more than 20 years of experience responding to natural disasters and humanitarian crises in over 50 countries with both immediate and long-term safe water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) solutions.
• In the last year, Water Mission responded to the devastating earthquakes in Turkey and the flooding in East Africa, serving over 280,000 people affected by disasters.
• Water Mission collaborates with organizations such as UNICEF, Oxfam, USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance, World Central Kitchen, UN Migration (IOM), and others.

“In the wake of a disaster, it is a matter of life and death to have access to safe drinking water, and every second counts. We have seen how Water Mission can respond quickly and efficiently with emergency safe water supplies,” said Grundfos Foundation Executive Director Kim Nohr Skibsted. “We are making emergency funding available to our trusted partner at short notice to avoid unnecessary red tape and delays in getting help to those who need it.”

Importance of Emergency Safe Water Access

Emergency safe water access is critical for survival and recovery in every disaster. The internationally accepted Sphere Standards established for disasters stipulate the minimum volume of water required for drinking and domestic hygiene per household in a disaster context is two gallons (7.5 liters) per person per day. Water Mission actively works to coordinate efforts with local government authorities and other responding organizations to exceed these disaster relief standards.

“The Grundfos Foundation’s grant allows us to accelerate and expand our ability to respond to multiple disasters around the globe,” said Water Mission CEO and President George Greene IV, PE. “This provides us with the flexibility to have pre-positioned equipment ready to go in our warehouses and dedicated people set to deploy to future disasters. We are thankful for the Grundfos Foundation’s generosity and trust.”

Water Mission’s Efforts in Addressing the Global Water Crisis

• In addition to its disaster response capabilities, Water Mission focuses on increasing sustainable safe water access in remote communities in eight countries around the world.
• According to the World Health Organization, more than two billion people around the world lack access to clean, safe water.
• Water Mission believes that, together, we can end the global water crisis.
• In the last year, Water Mission has served more than 1.9 million people with WASH solutions and more than 8 million people since its founding.

Watch this short video to learn more about Water Mission’s disaster response capabilities.

About Water Mission

Water Mission is a Christian engineering nonprofit that builds sustainable safe water solutions for people in developing countries, refugee camps, and disaster areas. Since 2001, Water Mission has served more than 8 million people in more than 60 countries, sharing safe water and the message of God’s love. Water Mission’s global headquarters is in North Charleston, SC, and the organization serves people in Africa, Asia, and North, South, and Central America. Charity Navigator has awarded Water Mission its top four-star rating 17 years in a row, a distinction shared by less than 1% of the charities rated by the organization. To learn more, visit watermission.org.

About The Grundfos Foundation

The Grundfos Foundation (Poul Due Jensen Foundation) is a Danish commercial foundation. Grundfos’ founder, Poul Due Jensen, created the Foundation on 19 May 1975. With 88% of the shares, the Foundation is the majority shareholder in Grundfos, a world leader in pumps, water solutions, and services.

This year, the Grundfos Foundation has pledged DKK 250m to philanthropic purposes within three strategic areas: Water, Research, and Inclusion. Find out more about the Grundfos Foundation.

SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

• SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation
• SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
• SDG 13: Climate Action
• SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

• SDG 6.1: By 2030, achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all.
• SDG 6.2: By 2030, achieve access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all and end open defecation, paying special attention to the needs of women and girls and those in vulnerable situations.
• SDG 11.5: By 2030, significantly reduce the number of deaths and the number of people affected and substantially decrease the direct economic losses relative to global gross domestic product caused by disasters, including water-related disasters, with a focus on protecting the poor and people in vulnerable situations.
• SDG 13.1: Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries.
• SDG 17.17: Encourage and promote effective public, public-private, and civil society partnerships, building on the experience and resourcing strategies of partnerships.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

• Indicator for SDG 6.1: Proportion of population using safely managed drinking water services.
• Indicator for SDG 6.2: Proportion of population using safely managed sanitation services, including a handwashing facility with soap and water.
• Indicator for SDG 11.5: Number of deaths, missing persons, and directly affected persons attributed to disasters per 100,000 population.
• Indicator for SDG 13.1: Number of countries that have integrated mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction, and early warning measures into their development planning and budgetary frameworks.
• Indicator for SDG 17.17: Amount of United States dollars committed to public-private partnerships.

SDGs, Targets, and Indicators Table

Source: globenewswire.com