Financing Works
Access to affordable financing is a barrier between people in need and water and sanitation solutions
Through decades of research, traveling throughout the world and talking to those affected by the water crisis, Water.org CEO & Co-founder, Gary White, uncovered a common theme – there are millions of families spending more than 20% of their income on water. They are paying high prices for water from vendors or collecting water from unsafe natural sources. Both options cost families time, money, opportunities and health. This was the inspiration for our financial solutions to the global water crisis.
Financing works for people living in poverty
We believe in putting the power of water directly into the hands of the people who need it. Through our work we have found that when given an opportunity to pay for water and sanitation improvements with loans, families opt to finance long-term solutions versus struggle day-to-day to find that next liter of water or a place to go.
From the beginning, we believed if we could provide people with small loans at reasonable rates for water connections and toilets, we could create participants in solving the water crisis. Now, more than 73 million people have access to safe water and sanitation at home because of our work. And there are millions more prepared to fund their own solutions if given the opportunity.
There are millions of families paying high prices in time and money for temporary access to water. Financing for long-term safe water and sanitation solutions is changing their lives.
Financing can help end the global water crisis
Water.org believes that access to capital is the most important barrier to overcome in order to solve the global water crisis. We have broadened our efforts and joined forces with others to increase financing for water and sanitation, helping even more people in need. We are helping unlock the flow of capital into the water and sanitation sector to ensure that, like the water solutions we make possible, affordable finance can flow down to those who need it most.
To ensure universal access to safe water and sanitation, a radical increase in global financing is required, three times the current investment. Bridging the financing gap and delivering safe and affordable access to water and sanitation will depend on smart and efficient approaches. Solutions like ours that strategically use donor funds to attract private investment can fill in the financing gap.
Help someone in need get access to a small, affordable loan for water.
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