Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) Indicators: Measuring Hydrophilanthropic Quality

The driving institutional mechanisms behind solutions for increasing access to water, sanitation and hygiene for the poor are driven by hydrophilanthropy, monies donated by non-government organizations to create solutions to problems caused by water poverty. Water poverty is the stress and/or scarcity of water resources (institutional, social, economic, political and/or physical constraints) that exceed an individual's basic needs for health, prosperity and a secure livelihood. Hydrophilanthropic organizations have emerged from the institutional landscape as water advocates and are responsible for contributing unequivocal resources towards ameliorating social, environmental, cultural and economic consequences resulting from water poverty, however, results from their contributions have been overlooked by policy makers. Questions for future research on the role of the hydro-philanthropic community include: what is the rationale for hydro-philanthropy to fund programs aimed at increasing access to water? And, does funding from hydrophilanthropy determine policy or does policy determine what is funded?