The Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation is a UN initiative that is executed jointly by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).
The World Health Organization (WHO)
The World Health Organization was set up in 1948 with the objective of promoting "the attainment by all people of the highest possible level of health"; health being defined in the WHO Constitution as "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity".
This objective has led to a framework of four strategic directions which are strongly interrelated.
The unit within WHO that deals specifically with water and sanitation issues is the Water, Sanitation, Hygiene and Health Programme (WSH), within the Departement of "Protection of the Human Environment" (PHE).
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)
UNICEF is mandated by the United Nations General Assembly to advocate for the protection of children's rights, to help meet their basic needs and to expand their opportunities to reach their full potential. UNICEF insists that the survival, protection and development of children are universal development imperatives that are integral to human progress. The unit within UNICEF that deals specifically with water and sanitation issues is the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene unit (WASH).
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UNICEF programmes operate in over 161 countries, areas and territories on solutions to problems facing children and their families and on ways to realize their rights. Work is carried out in partnerships with governments, civil society organisations and communities to offer children the best possible start in life. This is done by helping to prevent childhood illness and death by providing health, nutrition and water and sanitation services; by making pregnancy and childbirth safe; and by cooperating with communities to ensure that education is available to all children, without discrimination.
Programmes focus on policies, legislation and programmatic support to protect children in vulnerable situations. Our work reaches out to those who have been traditionally unreached, including working children, children affected by emergencies and HIV/AIDS, and those with nomadic lifestyles.
