Achieving Sustainable Development Goal 6

Globally, 2.2 billion people - 1 in 4 - lack access to safe water and 3.5 billion people - 2 in 5 - lack access to a safe toilet. We're working to change this.

All human beings share the need for drinking water and sanitation, and the people with least access to them pay a high price in health, time, and money to get them. But there is another side to this story: Many people who lack access to water and sanitation know exactly how to solve their problems. They may just need to connect to an existing water system, buy a toilet, or set up a rainwater harvesting system using readily available labor, technology, and materials. Their solutions are in plain sight. They just need a financial bridge to reach them.

Mechanisms that strategically use donor finance to catalyze private investment – often referred to as “blended finance” – will be critical to filling the financing gap that exists to solve the global water crisis. Water.org is well-poised to help the global community move forward.

Learn more from Water.org’s President and Chief Operating Officer Vedika Bhandarkar as she explains how blended finance is a solution to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals for achieving global access to safe water and sanitation.

“Interventions like WaterCredit unleash the latent demand and problem-solving power of our borrowers. Each repaid loan goes on to enable the next family. Investors reinvest their returns. The financial gap narrows.” Gary White, Co-founder and CEO, Water.org