News, Press & Perspectives

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

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A100 List - Vedika
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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Impakter - Turning Challenges Into Choices: How Access to Safe Water Empowers Women

March 8, 2025

Access to safe water reshapes daily life — reducing hours spent collecting water and opening doors to education, income earning opportunities, and community leadership. On International Women’s Day, we celebrate women’s achievements and acknowledge the barriers many still face.

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Global Heroes - Women Leading the Way: How Financial Inclusion is Transforming Communities in Mexico

March 13, 2025

Every year, on International Women’s Day (IWD), we celebrate the leadership of women who are creating change in their communities. This IWD, our Regional Director for Latin America, Rocio Cavazos, shares how women are driving solutions to the water crisis in Latin America.

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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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Alliance Magazine - Breaking the gender echo chamber

July 16, 2024

Water.org's Chief Revenue Officer, Lina Bonova, weighs in on the intersection of gender equality and access to safe water.

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ABC - Power of Water: Mexico’s water warriors

April 19, 2023

ABC News’ Linsey Davis travels to Mexico to see firsthand the silent water crisis happening around the world, and speaks with Co-founder Matt Damon about his push to get access to clean water for all.

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Water.org and Bank of America Expand Partnership to Bring Safe Water to India and Brazil

Nov. 2, 2018

Water.org received a $3 million grant over three years from Bank of America to empower more than 250,000 people in southern India and Brazil with safe water and sanitation, accelerating positive change in their homes and communities.

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Harpic Launches Its 'More than a toilet' Campaign to Support Water.org

Oct. 24, 2018

Harpic has launched its ‘More than a toilet’ campaign to support Water.org in its effort to end the water and sanitation crisis around the world. They will be raising awareness and funds in time for World Toilet Day on November 19th.

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Skoll Foundation - How to Spend a Billion Bucks? The Global Water Crisis

Oct. 5, 2018

How would you spend a billion dollars? Gary White knows what he will do. The Water.org CEO and co-founder says his organization has reached the $1 billion milestone in its efforts to help people access clean water and sanitation.

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Water.org Announces $1 Billion in Capital Mobilized for Water and Sanitation Solutions for Families in Poverty

Sept. 24, 2018

Water.org and its partners reached a critical milestone this month: mobilizing $1 billion in capital for small loans that have empowered 14 million people living in poverty to obtain safe water and sanitation

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Banco da Família meets annual credit goal for basic sanitation in just eight months

Sept. 17, 2018

In partnership with Water.org, Banco da Família financed R $1.9 million for families to build or renovate their bathrooms.

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Water.org joins Finish Mondial to team up for affordable toilets worldwide

Aug. 31, 2018

Water.org and Waste signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to work more closely together on the Finish Mondial concept, creating commercial lending facilities for both households, as well as suppliers in the whole supply chain for cheap toilet.

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CNN - Why Matt Damon is helping get water to the poor

July 18, 2018

Matt Damon and Gary White speak with CNN's Christiane Amanpour during their visit to Jakarta, Indonesia.

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Milken Institute - Investing in Safe Water Allows Opportunities to Flow

May 8, 2018

Written by Gary White and Matt Damon - The power of impact investing is why we believe we’re now standing on the brink of the solution to finally end the global water crisis. That's why we created WaterEquity.

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Skoll Foundation - The Power of Water Micro-Lending as Income Enhancer

April 4, 2018

Water.org’s work in India has established that water and sanitation is not a consumption product, but a loan that helps enhance household income.

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Next Billion - WASH Away Inequity

March 22, 2018

CEO Gary White shares the impact of access to safe water through affordable financing, including a personal story of one woman's changed life in the Philippines.

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Bloomberg TV - Matt Damon Says There Are Solutions to the Global Water Crisis

March 22, 2018

Matt Damon and Gary White join Bloomberg TV on the UN's World Water Day to discuss investing in safe water access for various communities.

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CNBC Squawk Box – World Water Day: Crisis around the globe

March 22, 2018

Matt Damon, Water.org co-founder; Gary White, Water.org co-founder; Anne Finucane, Bank of America vice chair, and Miguel Patricio, Anheuser-Busch InBev, talk about the lack of access to clean water and sanitation around the world.

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