The Pacific WASH Coalition supports regional initiatives in the area of water supply, sanitation and hygiene (WASH).
The Pacific WASH Coalition includes the following organisations: Foundation of the Peoples of the South Pacific International (FSPI), the Fiji School of Medicine (FSMed), Live & Learn Environmental Education (LLEE), the World Health Organisation (WHO), the United Nations Children’s Funds (UNICEF), International Federation of Red Cross (IFRC) and the Pacific Islands Applied Geoscience Commission (SOPAC).
The Pacific Islands Applied Geoscience Commission based in Suva, Fiji has a regional mandate on water and sanitation and provides a secretarial role within the Pacific as a member of the global Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC).
Jointly the Coalition takes a coordinated approach in addressing the issues of access to safe water supply, adequate sanitation and improved hygiene practices for the people in the Pacific.
The Coalition utilises existing frameworks such as the Pacific Partnership Initiative on Sustainable Water Management, the Pacific Wastewater Framework for Action and the Pacific Framework for Action on Drinking Water Quality and Health to support countries achieving the MDG targets on water and sanitation.
Globally, but also in Pacific island countries, there is a vast need to improve hand washing and sanitation. Eighty-eight per cent of cases of diarrhoeal diseases worldwide are attributable to inadequate sanitation, unsafe water and poor hygiene. In the Pacific island countries, the year 2002 saw the incidence of 871 cases of acute diarrhoea per thousand people, causing the death of 2800 people. More severe forms of diarrhoeal diseases include cholera, typhoid and dysentery.

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