SDG 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls

How Just a Drop contributes

Just a Drop’s work aims to reduce the burden many women and girls face of collecting water from distant sources by providing access to safe water close to their homes.

Lack of access to adequate sanitation and menstrual hygiene facilities at school often leads to girls’ absenteeism, which restricts their future opportunities. 

In Uganda we provide safe gender sensitive latrines alongside menstrual hygiene management programmes which encourage girls to attend school and complete their education.

In all of our clean water, sanitation and hygiene projects, we promote equality and empowerment of girls and women by ensuring they have a voice throughout the decision-making process.

Women and girls are equal members of school health clubs, water user committees, and community monitoring teams formed to operate, maintain and monitor the water and sanitation services Just a Drop provides.

Additionally, our menstrual health and hygiene (MHH) work across all six countries is another incredibly important way we empower women and girls. In Nicaragua, for example, we have delivered a pilot MHH training in 10 schools, setting up hygiene corners to help illustrate hygiene products and have supported teachers to incorporate MHH into the curriculum. Following the success of this pilot we are about to start a larger programme targeting 60 schools.