November 7, 2023 – Kansas City, MO – Water.org is pleased to announce that 60 million people around the world can now access safe water or sanitation. This achievement highlights the efficacy of the organization’s core solution, WaterCredit, in addressing Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG6) – making safe water and sanitation available to everyone everywhere.

“This remarkable achievement is marked by our team and partners’ unwavering commitment to the people we serve,” said Gary White, co-founder and CEO of Water.org. “The scalability of our financial solutions has redefined how the global community can make safe water and sanitation universally available. Having reached more than half our impact in the last five years alone, we are eager and excited to see what we can achieve in the next five years.”

The global financing gap for water and sanitation is substantial, estimated at a minimum of $85.6 billion annually. To help close this gap, Water.org uses donor finance to attract private investment. The organization’s market-driven and adaptable solutions address the unique challenges faced by families across 11 countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. The organization’s work enables financial institutions and other partners to extend financing to families, businesses, and service providers, resulting in more efficient, scalable solutions and using financing as a tool to facilitate access to safe water and sanitation.

“Lack of affordable financing is one of the critical barriers to safe water and sanitation access,” said Vedika Bhandarkar, President and Chief Operating Officer of Water.org. “People living in poverty often spend a significant amount of their time and income sourcing water, compromising their quality of life. Small loans empower families to invest in sustainable water and sanitation solutions that enable them to break free from the daily burden of securing these essential resources.”

Water.org continues to generate impact among the people and families it serves by partnering with local institutions, expanding partnerships to accelerate access, and strengthening the environment for water and sanitation solutions at a systems level. Having impacted 60 million lives, Water.org is now poised to leverage the power and scale of its solutions to reach 200 million people with access to safe water and sanitation. In doing so, the organization will continue to drive change in gender equity, climate resiliency, health, and education.

“60 million lives changed with water or sanitation is scratching the surface of what we can achieve,” said Matt Damon, co-founder of Water.org. “Access to water is access to education, livelihoods, health, and possibilities. Above all, access to water is access to the kind of future we want for our own families and all members of our human family. And thanks to our team, donors, and partners, the possibilities are endless with the power of water.”

For more information about Water.org and why water is the best investment the world can make to improve health, empower women, enable access to education, increase family income, and change lives, please visit https://water.org.

About Water.org

Water.org is a global nonprofit organization that has positively transformed more than 60 million lives around the world through access to safe water and sanitation. Founded by Gary White and Matt Damon, Water.org pioneers market-driven financial solutions to the global water crisis. For more than 30 years, Water.org has helped give women hope, children health, and families bright futures. Learn more at https://water.org.