Viviane Sassen’s campaign for clean water

Worldwide, 844 million people – that makes one in nine – do not have access to clean water close to home. According to the World Health Organisation, almost a third of our global population lives without sanitation facilities, and every minute a newborn dies from an infection caused by lack of safe water. These numbers are only growing year on year.

A new campaign that launched on World Water Day, 22 March, marks one year of WaterAid’s partnership with Giorgio Armani’s Acqua for Life. It is an initiative that hopes to deliver clean water and decent sanitation in schools, local communities, and health centres in Nepal, Papua New Guinea and Madagascar.

Produced by Viviane Sassen, a photographer known for leading high-profile fashion campaigns for luxury brands, the campaign was produced in collaboration with communities in the Manjakandriana district of Madagascar. WaterAid has been working there to build a new pipeline, which will connect more than 5,000 people in the district to a clean water supply.

Using her signature style of bold angles and vivid colours, Sassen has produced a series of images and a short film to celebrate access to clean water, and the lives of those she met in Madagascar.

www.vivianesassen.com www.wateraid.org/uk

© WaterAid/Viviane Sassen
© WaterAid/Viviane Sassen
© WaterAid/Viviane Sassen
© WaterAid/Viviane Sassen
© WaterAid/Viviane Sassen
© WaterAid/Viviane Sassen
© WaterAid/Viviane Sassen
© WaterAid/Viviane Sassen
Marigold Warner

Deputy Editor

Marigold Warner worked as an editor at BJP between 2018 and 2023. She studied English Literature and History of Art at the University of Leeds, followed by an MA in Magazine Journalism from City, University of London. Her work has been published by titles including the Telegraph Magazine, Huck, Elephant, Gal-dem, The Face, Disegno, and the Architects Journal.