News, Press & Perspectives

Find the latest news and press releases about our work in the water and sanitation sector below. 

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Get Blue_Press release header June 2026[87]
Water.org and Founding Partners Launch Get Blue™ to Bring Water Home™ Through Everyday Actions

June 9, 2026

Join Get Blue™, co-founded by Water.org’s Matt Damon and Gary White, and partners Gap Inc., Starbucks, Amazon, and Ecolab to shop, share, and donate to help end the global water crisis.

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The TODAY Show - Matt Damon, Gary White Talk Global Water Crisis and Solutions

June 9, 2026

Water.org co-founders Gary White and Matt Damon joined the TODAY Show to talk about Get Blue and why bringing safe water home for families around the world is within reach. "It's a massive problem but we have solutions," Damon says. Five dollars helps one person get lasting access to safe water or sanitation.

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TIME - Water Will Be the Defining Business Issue of the Decade

Jan. 23, 2026

Water shapes how people spend their time, the choices available to them, and their ability to participate in community and economic life. For the estimated 2.1 billion people who lack access to safe water and the 3.4 billion who lack access to safe sanitation, water dictates everything.

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TIME - Vedika Bhandarkar Believes We Can Solve the Water Crisis in Our Lifetime

May 1, 2025

TIME profiles Water.org President & COO Vedika Bhandarkar as part of Gold House’s A100 List, honoring the most impactful Asian Pacific leaders. Drawing on her 25-year career in finance, Vedika is helping unlock capital and scale smart solutions to accelerate access to safe water and sanitation, driving progress toward a world where everyone everywhere has the resources they need to thrive.

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NextBillion - The Keys to Successful Blue Bonds: How Peru’s Strong Local Lending Systems Are Expanding Water and Sanitation Access

May 26, 2026

For millions of families safe water solutions exist and are within reach — what's missing is affordable financing to pay for them. Water.org's Rocio Cavazos explains how two blue bond issuances are closing that gap for people in need in Peru, and what it took to build the lending systems that made them possible.

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A cyclist and a horse-cart carriage pass each other in a flooded area after heavy rain caused a river overflow, submerging scores of homes in Bandung, Indonesia on March 16, 2025. Timur Matahari—AFP/Getty Images
TIME - The Key to Solving the Global Water Crisis

March 22, 2025

The global water crisis is one of the most urgent and complex challenges facing humanity today. More than 2.2 billion people lack access to safe water, and 3.5 billion lack access to safely managed sanitation. This crisis undermines health and safety, education, and economic opportunity.

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Access to safe water protects and saves lives

June 3, 2020

Today 771 million people around the world lack access to safe water. This is a crisis. It’s a women’s crisis, a children’s crisis and it is a global health crisis. Read from former Water.org Director of Strategic Alliances, Nicole Wickenhauser on how access to safe water protects and saves lives.

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Time 100 Talks - 'Water Is PPE.'

May 21, 2020

Co-founders Matt Damon and Gary White explain why clean water is crucial to fighting coronavirus.

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Access to Water is Critical to Curb Disease Spread Today and Build Resiliency for the Future

May 14, 2020

Water.org and WaterEquity sign safe water and sanitation for all Leaders Call to Action on COVID-19.

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BRINK News - There’s a Way to Solve the Global Water Crisis — Investment

March 23, 2020

Gary White shares how investment on every possible level is what will end the water crisis and bring water and sanitation access to all.

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UN Global Compact - Global Business Leaders Unite for Water Resilience

March 23, 2020

CEOs of seven global corporations to lead the Water Resilience Coalition, pledging a commitment to collective action and achieving a water resilient future in partnership with a host of organizations, including Water.org.

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Forbes India - Vedika Bhandarkar: Water woman

March 6, 2020

Water.org's Vedika Bhandarkar is on Forbes India's list of Self Made Women 2020. After a successful first career in banking, Vedika is working to bring safe water and sanitation to those living at the base of the economic pyramid.

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Paying for the Spout: Innovative Financing Could Expand Access to Water

March 2, 2020

No country, region, or city is the same, especially when it comes to its water and sanitation needs. Read how Water.org, WaterEquity and other organizations are using innovative financing to help close the SDG6 financing gap.

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eBella Magazine - Clean Water for All

Feb. 18, 2020

At the Imagine Solutions Conference, CEO & Co-founder Gary White will share stories of Water.org's smart, innovative solutions and why he is confident the global water crisis is solvable.

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Financial inclusion for safe water and sanitation helps women and their families break the cycle of poverty

Feb. 4, 2020

For many people living in poverty, it’s expensive to not have access to water or a toilet. The reality is, in many countries around the world people in poverty pay a very high price for these things. These costs make it harder for families to get out of poverty. Read more from Water.org's President and Chief Operating Officer on how financial inclusion for water and sanitation is changing lives.

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Harpic's Clean Toilet Action Campaign to provide cleaner toilets to Indonesia

Feb. 1, 2020

4.5 million households in Java, Indonesia, still practice open defecation. This prompted Harpic, a toilet cleaner produced and marketed by Reckitt Benckiser, to commit to alleviating the problem of open defecation in Java by 2025.

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Lifestyles Magazine - Water relief from a star

Jan. 6, 2020

As Co-founder of Water.org, Matt Damon's focus includes philanthropy as well as film.

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Global Citizen - Billions of People Won't Have Access to Water or a Toilet This Holiday Season

Dec. 20, 2019

It’s the holiday season. Conversations about who will host which gathering are in full swing. Imagine if some of the considerations were whether the host family has access to running water, or if they could offer guests a toilet.

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