A Rotary-led effort to expand access to safe water in Haiti has secured a significant boost, enabling it to scale up in both rural and urban communities.

The Haiti National Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Initiative (HANWASH) has been selected by the Rotary International Foundation as the recipient of its annual Programmes of Scale grant. The announcement was made on May 18, after an earlier pre-announcement to hundreds of Rotarians at the District 7020 Conference in Kingston.

Launched in 2017 by Barry Rassin, a Bahamian past Rotary International president, HANWASH has so far operated in five of Haiti’s 147 communes, aiming to deliver sustainable access to potable water nationwide.