Water and sanitation are a gateway to justice and opportunity for people. This truth powers our mission. We are an international non-profit that prides itself in tackling root causes and delivering holistic solutions. Piecemeal charity does not work. Our ambitions stretch further and our interventions run deeper. Nothing less than sustainable safe services will do. We don't parachute in and out of countries. We are mostly citizens of the eight countries where we work: Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Mali, Niger and Uganda. We work directly with communities, experts, public servants and decision-makers. We facilitate collective action with Government, water utilities, the private sector, NGOs, citizen groups and entrepreneurs. Regionally and around the world we work with banks, donors and a range of institutions to support their effectiveness in delivering long-term solutions that last, not short-term projects that don't.With over half a century of experience, we know that safe water and sanitation services can only be achieved through resilient systems—the networks of people, institutions, hardware, investment and resources that deliver clean water to our taps that keeps us safe. It is through our expertise in strengthening these systems that we drive improvements. We champion our systems approach globally and build alliances with wider leaders, experts and activists to build a common cause across the Sustainable Development Goals, promoting water and sanitation as a gateway to tackle wider challenges and injustices.
'IRC' comes from International Reference Centre for Community Water Supply, which was our name from the founding of the organisation in 1968 (by the World Health Organization and Dutch government) to mid-1980s, when it changed into IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre. Since 2014 we are known as IRC, no acronym, just our name in capital letters. Occasionally with the additional strapline: supporting water sanitation and hygiene services for life.
Officially we are registered at the Dutch Chamber of Commerce as Stichting IRC, International Water and Sanitation Centre.
All our contact details are available from the contact us page on this site. Do you want to get involved, as member of the public, activist, expert in water, health climate and beyond or are you a decision maker with political influence.
IRC is an independent, non-profit organisation. In 2023 our key donor partners included: the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, Netherlands Directorate-General of Development Cooperation (DGIS), UNICEF, Osprey Foundation, United States Agency for International Development (USAID), The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints [LDS], Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) and many others.
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