You can help save children from deadly disease 

Right now, children in Ecuador are in danger due to a lack of clean water, safe toilets, and proper hygiene. Nearly half the population is missing at least one of these necessities. 

6 out of 10 children under five drink water contaminated with E. coli bacteria​, exposing them to deadly disease, parasites, and chronic malnutrition. Only 1 in 3 schools has basic water, sanitation, and hygiene services 

“The lack of safe water delays the proper development of children, directly affecting their nutrition, health and ability to learn,” warns Luz Ángela Melo, UNICEF’s former Representative in Ecuador​.  

Every day, children are falling sick because they have no safe water to drink. 

Children face multiple deadly threats – you can help protect them

Ecuador has the second-highest rate of chronic child malnutrition in Latin America. Within Ecuador, the Chimborazo province has the highest rate — over 35%. Unsafe water and poor sanitation are making children sick and undernourished from an early age. 

The need is urgent. Thousands of schools and homes lack clean water and toilets. At least 2,663 schools in Ecuador still do not have safe drinking water or decent sanitation facilities for students​. 

In these conditions, children fall ill and miss class. Young girls face additional hardship when there is no private, sanitary restroom.  

Every day, girls are missing school because there are no private, sanitary restrooms. 

Climate change is worsening the crisis, bringing higher temperatures and droughts that dry up water sources​. 

Families in arid coastal and highland areas sometimes walk hours to fetch water, only to find it dirty or insufficient.  

Every day, families walk for hours to fetch dirty water, knowing it could make their children sick. 

No child should have to drink from a contaminated stream or skip school because there’s no working toilet. Yet for too many in Ecuador, this is daily reality.  

We cannot accept this. This crisis is stealing childhoods. It is stealing futures. But you can help change this. 

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A life transformed by clean water 

In Ecuador’s Amazon region, 10-year-old Merlía used to drink tap water filled with bacteria and parasites. She was constantly sick, missing school due to stomach pain and diarrhoea. 

At least 10 children a day at her school suffered from waterborne illnesses. The bathrooms were foul, unusable, and lacked water to flush or clean.  

Merlía often felt weak from recurring bouts of diarrhoea. She was thirsty, frequently sick, and struggling to keep up in class – all because something as basic as safe water was missing. 

 Then UNICEF brought hope. 

Through the Smart Resilient Schools programme, Merlía’s school received a safe water supply, new sanitation facilities, and hygiene education. Today, she is healthy, thriving, and learning, because something as simple as clean water changed her life. 

Hygiene education has become part of the curriculum – students learned proper handwashing and even how to treat water by boiling it at home.

“I told my mum that when the water starts to boil… wait 20 minutes. Then it is drinkable,” Merlía proudly explains after attending a UNICEF hygiene workshop. 

The school’s toilets have been rebuilt and supplied with soap and water, so children can wash their hands and use the bathroom with dignity. 

Merlía’s grades have improved because she’s no longer constantly ill. And she isn’t alone. Her entire community sees the change – children are healthier, parents are less worried, and teachers report better attendance.  

This is the impact your support can create: one by one, children like Merlía are recovering their health, education, and childhood because they finally have something so fundamental – clean water. 

UNICEF’s urgent response – and why we need you 

UNICEF is on the ground right now bringing clean water and safe sanitation to children across Ecuador.  

In 2024, UNICEF and partners: 

• Rehabilitated 7 community wells, providing safe drinking water to over 72,000 people. 

• Repaired school restrooms and installed handwashing stations in 53 schools, reaching 60,000 children. 

• Trained families on hygiene and provided water purification supplies, ensuring children don’t fall sick from contaminated water. 

But thousands of children are still drinking dirty water today. Without urgent action, they will continue to suffer. 

We can’t let another child get sick from dirty water – act now 

This crisis is not inevitable – it is preventable. You can be part of the solution. 

UNICEF is on the ground in Ecuador working tirelessly to bring water, sanitation and hygiene programmes to remote villages, border towns, and schools in the Amazon rainforest, Andean highlands, and coastal communities.  

Your support today can help provide:

• €6 can supply clean water to help a family keep their children safe. 
• €12 can provide emergency water and a family hygiene kit for 2 families. 
• €18 provides vital medicine to keep 2 children safe from harmful diseases.  

Supporting children in Ecuador

This year, Aer Lingus staff saw first-hand how UNICEF supporters are helping children in Ecuador by strengthening healthcare services, promoting breastfeeding, providing phycological support, and training professionals. 

Staff visited the Quito Wawa Centre in the capital city, and saw how UNICEF provides early childhood care, enabling parents to work.

Beyond healthcare, UNICEF is also transforming childhood mental health in violence-prone areas like Esmeraldas, reaching over 5,200 young people. 

They witnessed how UNICEF is equipping 1,500 caregivers and teachers with positive parenting skills, ensuring long-term emotional well-being. 

And in Alausí, they learned how children traumatised by a devastating landslide in 2023 are receiving psychosocial support.

Some children lost friends in the disaster, but thanks to UNICEF they are now enrolled in vital mental health programmes, helping them understand and express their emotions.