Announcing Water for the World Photo Contest Winners
This contest-winning photo captures a mother and child at one of the new handwashing stations that USAID’s Isuku Iwacu Activity put in place in Rwanda to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. Photo credit: Irene Victoria/DevWorks International
Summary
USAID’s Water for the World activities work hand-in-hand with partners around the globe to provide communities and families with access to safe drinking water and sanitation services. Because a picture is worth a thousand words, USAID invited its partners to share images of their work building a more water-secure world. And the week of World Water Day is the perfect time to announce the Water for the World photo contest winners.
Partners from U.S. Government agencies, nonprofits and NGOs, universities, businesses, and civil society submitted more than 50 inspiring photos of Water for the World and related water security projects—from Guatemala to Cambodia.
These photos help tell the story of what USAID does every day to secure Water for the World: promote sustainable water resources management; improve access to safe water supplies; invest in research and innovation; empower women; and promote better water security, sanitation, and hygiene.
Over the past two years, Water for the World activities under USAID’s Water and Development Plan helped 11.6 million people gain access to sustainable water and 10.6 million people gain access to sanitation services. These pictures give a glimpse into the lives behind the numbers that are being positively impacted.
This year for the first time Water for the World joined Feed the Future in a call for photos, and the response—more than 160 submissions—was gratifying. Be sure to check out all the Water for the World content entries here and the Feed the Future’s photo contest winners here, highlighting efforts to end global hunger and ensure communities and families stay resilient and provide access to safe drinking water and sanitation services.
Now, without further ado, see the winners and top picks from the Water for the World and Feed the Future photos in this feature article, and click on each photo for more information.
Congratulations to the winners and thanks to all who participated in this photo contest!
By Joey Lu and Zoë Landless of USAID’s Bureau for Resilience and Food Security