His Royal Highness extends presidency of WaterAid

We are delighted to announce that His Royal Highness, the Prince of Wales, has extended his Presidency of WaterAid for the next five years.

His Royal Highness first became WaterAid’s President in 1991. Since then, he has helped us raise awareness of the fact that over 748 million people – roughly one in ten of the world's population – lack access to clean, safe water and 1,400 children die every day due to diarrhoeal diseases caused by unsafe water and poor sanitation.

During his Presidency to date, the Prince has visited WaterAid projects in developing countries, hosted events at Clarence House and commended those who have raised vital funds for us.

His Royal Highness most recently saw first-hand how access to clean water, sanitation and hygiene is changing lives during a visit to a project in Kigamboni on the outskirts of Dar Es Salaam, during his official royal visit to Tanzania in 2011. Accompanied by The Duchess of Cornwall, HRH met communities that have been transformed through installing toilets, taps and good hygiene practices. The royal visitors even had a demonstration of how to operate the machine used to empty waste from the latrines, known as the Gulper!

Reflecting on the visit in a speech recorded for our annual supporters' meeting in 2012, His Royal Highness said, "Put simply, these projects alleviate poverty and give communities a level of human dignity."

Barbara Frost, Chief Executive of WaterAid, said, "For over 20 years we have been extremely fortunate that HRH The Prince of Wales has used his unique position to help WaterAid change lives in the world’s poorest and most marginalised communities. We are extremely grateful to the Prince, and we are honoured that he has extended his Presidency to support WaterAid in achieving our mission of a world where everyone, everywhere has access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene by 2030."