As a global leader in the water and waste management sectors, we have been operating for over 160 years all over the world. We provide essential services to protect the resource and improve quality of life wherever we operate.
Headed by Sabrina Soussan, our Group is supported by a solid consortium of shareholders and a governance structure built around a Board of Directors and an Executive Committee.
At SUEZ, working to serve the environment is our day-to-day reality. In our water and waste businesses, our teams take action on the ground and help find solutions to build a sustainable future.
Fondation SUEZ x Inter Aide: a maintenance strategy for sustainability
In the mountainous region of southern Ethiopia, between 50 and 80% of the population has to walk 40 minutes to collect very low quantities of non-drinking water from the river, and access to sanitation and good hygiene practices remains very scarce. As for the cattle, which are vital to the local economy, they drink from pools of stagnant water infested with leeches.
As a solution to this issue, the NGO Inter Aide heads a programme in 8 districts which aims, on one hand, to create simple and sustainable systems for access to gravity-fed water supplies, bringing spring water from higher land to water fountains, wash houses and troughs; and on the other hand, to promote good hygiene practices and the construction of latrines. The solution is supported by the implementation of professional maintenance services, with the creation and training of federations that head water users associations and that represent them at the regional water offices.
As the health crisis did not impact the work’s progress, the goals were achieved: construction of 134 water sources for nearly 38,000 users and 3,000 students, and a close to 90% increase in the number of latrines. The crisis did, however, require the increased dissemination of key messages on barrier gestures and the installation of micro hand-washing stations in public spaces.
As for the maintenance strategy, large strides have been made: the Federations are operational and, in particular, highly involved in the creation and management of regional maps that outline their master plan for the management of resources and equipment.