Archive for category: Clean Water Access

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Innovations in Poverty Eradication in Jordan

Poverty Eradication in JordanJordan’s poverty challenge is shaped by unemployment, water scarcity, limited natural resources and the long-term responsibility of hosting refugees. However, the country is also showing how innovation can make poverty reduction more precise, practical and sustainable. Instead of relying only on traditional aid, innovations in poverty eradication in Jordan are combining digital assistance, job creation, climate-smart solutions and humanitarian technology to help vulnerable communities build more stable futures.

Digital Aid That Reaches Families Faster

One of the strongest examples is Jordan’s National Aid Fund Cash Transfer Program. According to the World Bank, the program provided monthly support to 220,000 households in Jordan. In 2021, it reached an estimated 62% of the most impoverished people in the country, making it one of the largest cash transfer programs in the Middle East and North Africa in terms of coverage for low-income individuals. 

The innovation lies not only in the money itself, but in the system behind it. The program uses digital payment methods, including basic bank accounts and e-wallets, to make support easier to receive and more efficient to manage. This matters because families experiencing poverty often face barriers to banking, transportation and public services. Digital cash assistance can reduce those barriers while giving families more control over how they meet urgent needs.

Turning Assistance Into Opportunity

Jordan’s anti-poverty innovation also focuses on employment. The World Bank reports that supported operations have helped 48,000 Jordanians secure formal-sector jobs, with women accounting for 52% of those placements. In addition, 30,000 people are receiving on-the-job training and more than 4,000 individuals have received training in the digital sector.

This is important because poverty reduction becomes stronger when families can move from short-term support to long-term income. Job training, formal employment and digital skills help people enter sectors with more stability and growth potential. For young people and women, these programs can create access to opportunities that were previously harder to reach. In this way, Jordan’s approach connects social protection with economic mobility.

Youth-Led Water Innovation

Water scarcity is one of Jordan’s most serious development challenges. It affects agriculture, household costs, food security and job opportunities. The United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) “Scaling Up Water Innovation for Climate Security in Northern Jordan” project addresses this issue by supporting youth-led businesses that develop practical water and agricultural solutions. The project received a $570,000 grant from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) through the SDG-Climate Facility and focuses on climate security, water management and economic opportunity. 

The project trained 25 startups in financial modeling, customer development and value proposition design. Seven youth-led small and medium enterprises then developed solutions using artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, hydroponics, vertical farming and improved irrigation. The UNDP reported that some of these innovations reduced water consumption by up to 20% while improving agricultural productivity at the household level.

These efforts show why climate innovation is also a form of poverty innovation. When water becomes easier to conserve and agriculture becomes more productive, families and small businesses can reduce costs, protect income and adapt to environmental stress. In a country where water scarcity affects both rural and urban communities, youth-led innovation offers a practical way to connect environmental resilience with economic survival.

Humanitarian Technology for Refugees

Jordan’s innovation also extends to humanitarian assistance. The World Food Programme’s (WFP) Building Blocks system uses blockchain technology to coordinate cash-based food assistance. WFP reports that Building Blocks serves more than one million refugees in Jordan and Bangladesh and has processed $555 million in cash-based interventions through 25 million transactions. 

This technology helps aid organizations reduce duplication, protect data and save money on bank fees. For refugees and vulnerable communities, better coordination can mean more reliable access to assistance. Although blockchain alone cannot end poverty, it can make humanitarian systems faster, more transparent and more efficient in places where resources are limited and needs are high.

Looking Ahead

The most powerful innovations in poverty eradication in Jordan are not isolated projects. They are part of a larger shift that uses technology and entrepreneurship to make poverty reduction efforts more targeted, inclusive and sustainable. Digital aid helps families survive immediate hardship. 

Employment programs help people build a stable income. Water innovation helps communities adapt to climate pressure, while humanitarian technology helps assistance reach people more efficiently.

Jordan’s progress shows that poverty eradication is strongest when aid is connected to opportunity. By linking social protection, digital inclusion, youth employment and climate resilience, innovations in poverty eradication in Jordan are helping transform short-term support into long-term opportunities.

– Adriana Carolina Herrera

Adriana is based in Mentor, Ohio, USA and focuses on Good News and Technology for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Unsplash

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8 Facts About The World Bank’s New Water Forward Program

New Water Forward ProgramApproximately 4 billion people worldwide are victims of water scarcity. To combat this, the World Bank recently announced its newest program, “Water Forward,” in collaboration with many other multilateral developmental banks. This initiative will target assisting water-stressed nations, particularly in Asia and Africa, by limiting water leakage, modernizing national irrigation systems, modernizing the nation’s water usage data collection and improving how wastewater is reused. Here are eight facts about the new program.

Background

The Water Forward initiative aims to improve water access for 1 billion people worldwide. The World Bank has predicted their independent investment in Water Forward should improve water access for over 400 million people by 2030. To supplement this, other multilateral developmental banks have also pledged their resources to access an additional 600 million people. An impact this size would provide an incredible amount of improvement for the world’s water-scarce populations.

Water Forward looks to expand and protect 1.7 billion water-related jobs. The increased investment in national large-scale water projects will not only create new local jobs in water-related sectors, but also improve the conditions of existing professions. Within affected nations, job growth is expected in sectors like agriculture, water system manufacturing, energy and maintenance.

Investment

Many different developmental banks are helping with funding the Water Forward program. The new initiative displays great examples of international collaboration, with a total of 10 multilateral developmental banks involved. Some of these banks include the Asian Development Bank, the Council of Europe Development Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, the Islamic Development Bank and the OPEC Fund for International Development, among others.

The initiative aims to double worldwide private investment in water. Public investment dominates capital expenditure in water, with a whopping 90% of capital investment coming from governments. However, the World Bank claims that it believes private investment can be increased to 20% within the next 10 years. They claim this is partly due to tightening government budgets and a rising need for water pricing to reflect its essentiality to life. To attract private investment, the World Bank will seek to create safer water projects with the potential for higher returns.

Water Compacts

Fourteen countries have already announced their water compacts under the initiative. Water compacts exist as commitments from nations to the Water Forward plan, with outlines for how they can best help improve water availability within their respective nations. The 14 nations are Albania, Angola, Bolivia, Cambodia, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Jamaica, Jordan, Kenya, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Uzbekistan and Vietnam. These commitments symbolize the willingness of these nations to follow the World Bank’s guidelines and improve water availability in their nations.

Examples

Kenya started their expanded water access program 13 years ago and looks to expand it with the help of the World Bank. Kenya has been implementing the World Bank-financed “Water Security and Climate Resilience Project” since 2013. This program has increased access to irrigation water and enhanced institutional frameworks for water security. As of 2025, thousands of farmers have gained access to improved irrigation systems as a result of the program.

Uzbekistan’s Water Forward compact aims to provide water security for 3.8 million people and improve irrigation access for 2.2 million people. Uzbekistan, one of the most recent issuers of a water compact, has pledged to install water-saving technology within 1.1 million hectares of land, which should reduce irrigation losses by 25%. Furthermore, it hopes to modernize almost 11,000 km of the main canal, digitalize farm water intake points, and achieve 100% coverage of clean drinking water and modern sanitation by 2030.

– Luca Napolitano

Luca is based in Boston, MA, USA and focuses on Good News and Politics for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr

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Poverty Reduction and Water Access in Mayotte

Water Access in MayotteMayotte is facing a water and sanitation crisis that goes beyond simple household issues. Official data shows that one-third of the population in this French overseas department, located in the Indian Ocean, do not have running water at home. Additionally, two-thirds of households lack basic access to sanitation facilities.

The same European Commission regional fiche reports that current water demand is about 42,000 cubic meters per day, while production capacity is around 39,000. In a territory where 77% of residents live below the poverty line, poor water access in Mayotte has made residents more vulnerable to health risks, increased daily costs and tough living conditions.

When Water Becomes a Poverty Issue

For many residents, the issue is not about lacking a large water supply, but affordability and safety as well. The European Commission states that water-related spending accounts for 17% of average household budget in Mayotte. Families who lack indoor water access most often depend on backyard taps, neighbors or informal sources such as standpipes, wells or streams. Interruptions also pose a health hazard since bacteria and other waterborne disease agents can spread when stored water deteriorates in Mayotte’s heat. Therefore, poor water access in Mayotte negatively affects residents’ public health and a household’s concentration on work, school and other essential needs.

AFD says Mayotte has a population of at least 300,000 people on just 376 square kilometers and continues to experience a growing population. At the same time, the European Commission notes that many of the water network was built to support a much smaller population and that malfunctions in one part of the system can severely disrupt supply across the territory. This helps explain why water shortages in Mayotte are not just the result of a drier climate, they are also related to problems such as aging infrastructure, limited capacity and years of delayed investment.

Major Investments Are Underway

However, active responses are already underway. The European Commission announced additional national investment plans of around €450 million for succeeding years, while the ERDF 2021-2027 program plans to invest €77.5 million ($90,845,500.00 US dollars) in water and sanitation in Mayotte.

AFD also works with local stakeholders to develop infrastructure and support local authorities, including through a project that provides organizational and financial aid to Mayotte’s communes and inter-communal bodies. These efforts matter because poverty reduction in Mayotte partly depends on whether essential services become more reliable and affordable.

A 2024-2027 Water Plan Offers Concrete Steps

The Mayotte prefecture’s 2024-2027 water plan adds more concrete measures. According to the prefecture, leak-repair teams have inspected more than two-thirds of the network since mid-2023 and have repaired more than 1,000 leaks. The plan also includes new boreholes at Coconi and Combani and an Ironi Bé desalination plant with a planned capacity of 10,000 cubic meters per day. Water access in Mayotte is therefore not only a crisis story. It is also a story about whether current repairs, investments and long-term planning can finally turn a basic service into a more stable foundation for health and poverty reduction.

– Ashirah Newton

Ashirah is based in Brooklyn, NY, USA and focuses on Good News and Global Health for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr

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Fog Harvesting Technology and Clean Water in Rural Morocco

fog harvesting technologyFog harvesting technology in rural Morocco is helping address water scarcity in some of the country’s most arid and isolated communities. In rural Morocco, limited rainfall, scarce groundwater resources, and the effects of extreme weather patterns have made access to clean drinking water a long-standing challenge. By capturing moisture from fog and converting it into usable water, fog harvesting technology in rural Morocco is providing a sustainable solution for families in need. Dar Si Hmad has been central to developing and expanding this innovation.

How Fog Harvesting Technology Works

Fog harvesting technology uses large vertical mesh nets to capture tiny water droplets from fog. As wind passes through the nets, moisture condenses on the fibers, forming larger droplets that flow downward into collection channels. The collected water is then filtered and stored for household use, including drinking, cooking and sanitation.

According to Dar Si Hmad, the system deployed in southwestern Morocco is the largest operational fog-collection network in North Africa. The organization explains that the technology relies on consistent fog patterns in mountainous coastal regions, making it especially effective in the Anti-Atlas area. As described in project research materials, “The research aims to optimize fog collection means and create strong, self- sufficient nets that can withstand extremely hard conditions.” This reflects ongoing efforts to improve durability and efficiency in extreme environments while expanding access to clean water in rural communities.

Fog Harvesting in the Anti-Atlas Mountains

One of the most significant implementations of fog-harvesting technology in rural Morocco is in the Ait Baamrane region of the Anti-Atlas Mountains.

Dar Si Hmad described the fog-harvesting system in southwestern Morocco is described by Dar Si Hmad as “the largest functioning fog collection project in the world,” which has brought “positive transformations to the communities, particularly the women, and the environment.” The project uses CloudFisher technology at Mount Boutmezguida to capture fog and supply water to nearby villages, supporting both climate adaptation and local development.

Social and Economic Impacts

Procedia Engineering highlights the broader impacts of fog harvesting in rural Morocco. The study explains that the fogwater harvesting initiative “provides a holistic approach to addressing complex development challenges” and that it “delivers potable water to hundreds of rural residents who have never had running water.”The research further emphasizes that the project combines engineering innovation with community participation to improve water access, reduce poverty, and support sustainable development in underserved regions.

The project has had a significant impact on women in rural communities. According to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Dar Si Hmad is a “women-led NGO in Morocco” that designed and installed “the world’s largest operational fogwater harvesting system.” The organization also reports that Dar Si Hmad’s female team leaders have conducted more than 20 capacity-building workshops with rural berber women to promote literacy and income-generating projects. By training female villagers to monitor and maintain the fogwater system, the initiative strengthens local participation and empowers women as managers of water resources in climate-vulnerable regions.

Benefits for Women and Children

A major impact of fog harvesting technology in rural Morocco is the reduction in the time spent collecting water. In many rural communities, women and girls are traditionally responsible for this task, often walking long distances daily.

With the fog water system installed closer to villages, women and girls do not have the burden of long daily walks for water. According to Procedia Engineering, the project helps “free women and children from the time-consuming chore of collecting water” and contributes to the “Release of young girls from water gathering chores, enhancing the possibility they will attend school.” This shift can improve gender equity and create more opportunities for education and community development.

Health and Environmental Benefits

Access to clean water from fog harvesting systems has also improved public health outcomes. Reliable drinking water reduces exposure to waterborne diseases such as diarrhea, which disproportionately affects children in rural areas.

In addition, fog harvesting technology in rural Morocco is environmentally sustainable. The UNFCCC describes the project as “an environmentally friendly water source to combat the effects of desertification.” Powered in part by solar panels and requiring little energy to operate, the system offers a cost-effective and low-impact solution for water-scarce regions facing the effects of extreme weather patterns

Fog harvesting technology demonstrates how an innovative, low-cost solution can address critical water shortages in vulnerable regions. Through the efforts of Dar Si Hmad and local communities, fog is being transformed into a reliable source of clean drinking water. This technology not only improves health and reduces daily burdens but also strengthens education, economic opportunity, and climate resilience in rural Morocco.

– Grelby Santos

Grelby is based in Boston, MA, USA and focuses on Technology and Global Health for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr

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AguaClara: Clean Water in Honduras and Beyond

Clean Water in HondurasIn 2010, the United Nations (U.N.) General Assembly officially declared access to water a human right. Nonprofit organization AguaClara Reach has been working with water technologies since 2005. Dr. Monroe Weber-Shirk created the program to implement water treatment plants in lower-income areas. Since then, AguaClara Reach has helped more than 100,000 people gain access to clean, safe water. Founded in Honduras, the program has expanded its work and now operates 26 water treatment plants across Central America and India, each working to reduce poverty through clean water.

The Link Between Lack of Safe Water and Poverty

Lack of access to safe water not only reflects poverty but also drives it. Without safe water, economic opportunity is limited, and communities face cycles of illness, lost productivity and time spent locating water sources. The World Bank classifies India and Honduras, the primary beneficiaries of AguaClara’s projects, as lower-middle-income countries. Both countries experience large inequalities of wealth. In Honduras, the poverty rate was 62.90% as of 2024, based on the national poverty line. While data for poverty at the national level is unavailable for India, the World Bank reports that in 2022, the poverty rate at $3 a day was 5.25%. Initiatives like AguaClara play a role in helping to reduce poverty through clean water.

The Consequences of Unsafe Water

With a large proportion of Hondurans living in poverty, an estimated 2.7 million do not have access to safe drinking water. The World Health Organization (WHO) identifies waterborne diseases as a primary cause of child mortality. The National Survey of Demography and Health shows that only 50% of households in Honduras have access to E. coli-free water, with rural and low-income communities particularly affected.

Conditions in India are similar. As of 2025, 91 million people in India had no guaranteed way of securing clean water sources. Waterborne diseases in India resulted in an estimated 11,728 deaths from 2014 to 2018. Unsafe water also deepens poverty, with waterborne diseases costing the country around $600 million each year.

AguaClara’s Community-Led Mission

According to AguaClara Reach, the organization advances global access to safe drinking water through community-scale, gravity-powered water treatment technologies, capacity building with local implementation partners and research and education with university partners.

To sustainably reduce poverty through clean water access, AguaClara Reach implements its technologies with the community in mind. Its method relies on an understanding of the political and social context of each project area to support a long-term solution.

Since 2008, the AguaClara plant in Tamara, Honduras, has provided locals with clean and safe water. Each household pays a $5 tariff, allowing the water board to continuously upgrade water infrastructure. The community accepts this fee on the basis that access to reliable water eases financial pressure. Improvements made by the Tamara water board include an expanded storage tank, the use of stacked rapid sand filters and a self-cleaning clarifier. In Tamara, AguaClara technology has improved the quality of life and will continue to do so as the equipment evolves.

Looking Ahead

Efforts to improve access to clean, safe water continue across developing nations. The work of AguaClara Reach offers one model for addressing this challenge, with measurable impact across communities in Central America and India. As the organization expands its reach, its community-led approach provides a path forward to reduce poverty through clean water.

– Polly Laws

Polly is based in Cardiff, UK and focuses on Good News and Global Health for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr

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SDG 6 in Palestine: Water, Sanitation and Life Under Blockade

sdg 6 palestineFor people in the State of Palestine, SDG 6 is not just about building more pipes or treatment plants. It is about whether families in Gaza and the West Bank have access to safe drinking water, cooking water, and washing water. While global reports show some progress in water and sanitation, Palestinians continue to face serious challenges because of conflict, damaged infrastructure and ongoing crises.

SDG 6 and What It Promises

SDG 6’s goal is to “ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.” This includes targets for safe drinking water, proper sanitation and hygiene, better water quality and fairer, more efficient water use. Around the world, billions of people still lack safe water and sanitation, and progress is not fast enough to reach everyone by 2030. In Palestine, SDG 6 shows how conflict and political restrictions can make even basic improvements difficult.

Water Access in Palestine Today

Official SDG 6 data indicate that most people in Palestine have access to safely managed drinking water, but these numbers do not reflect the significant differences across regions and communities. In Gaza, years of blockade, over-pumping and damaged infrastructure have made the coastal aquifer very polluted. Even before the latest crisis, about 97% of its water did not meet World Health Organization (WHO) standards. Recent reports show that many families in Gaza get much less than the 50 liters of water per person per day that the U.N. says is needed for health. This forces people to use unsafe water or pay high prices for trucked water.

Gaza: Living With Extreme Water Insecurity

Gaza’s crowded population and broken infrastructure make SDG 6 especially important there. According to Anera, only about 10% of people in Gaza have safe drinking water at home. Most families must buy desalinated or delivered water if they can afford it. Pollution from untreated sewage, flooding and old, rusty pipes worsens water quality and increases the risk of disease.

West Bank: Inequality and Control Over Resources

In the West Bank, SDG 6 is affected by unequal control over water resources and restrictions on Palestinian infrastructure projects. Researchers say Israel has “hydro-hegemony” because it controls the main aquifers and the Jordan River. This means Palestinian communities often have less water per person and face frequent shortages. In many parts of Area C, Palestinians need permits to build or improve water and sanitation facilities, and the risk of demolition makes long-term planning difficult.

Lack of water and sanitation hurts health, education and jobs across Palestine, especially for children and low-income families. Not enough clean water and poor wastewater management lead to more cases of diarrhea and other diseases. Experts warn that crowded places like Gaza could face health crises. When families spend much of their money on water, they have less for food, rent, and school, which makes poverty worse.

Local and International Efforts

Even with these problems, people are working to improve SDG 6 in Palestine by building better infrastructure and making services better. In Gaza, Anera has put in 1 million meters of water pipes, providing 35,700 people in Rafah with steady water at home. It has also connected more than 2,300 homes to safer wastewater systems and added drainage to help with flooding. Other projects, like a sanitation effort in Khan Younis, aim to improve basic services by helping local governments with technical, organizational and financial support.

Strengthening these efforts could help Palestine get closer to SDG 6 and improve health, dignity, and opportunities for millions living through ongoing crisis.

– Niaz Youssefian

Niaz is based in Cardiff, UK and focuses on Global Health for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

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Overcoming Challenges to Improve Water Quality in Cambodia

Water Quality in CambodiaWater quality issues in Cambodia stem from a chain of connected problems. Limited sanitation infrastructure contributes to poor hygiene practices, contaminating water sources in a country already vulnerable to floods and droughts. Organizations are addressing these challenges by establishing reliable water sources and developing infrastructure that promotes healthy hygiene habits.

Root Causes

Nearly half of rural Cambodians rely on rivers, lakes and ponds for drinking water that is contaminated by poor waste disposal. Even groundwater in coastal regions is contaminated with coliform and E. coli, exposing communities to serious health risks. Without proper facilities and disposal practices, communities are left to depend on water that spreads disease and causes chronic illness.

The lack of sanitation infrastructure leaves people with few safe options. UNICEF reports that eight in 10 rural Cambodians defecate in open fields or bodies of water. Without toilets or clean water for handwashing, surface water is contaminated, continuing to pose a threat to water quality in Cambodia. There is a need for both reliable infrastructure and safe hygiene education to minimize the effects of waste disposal pollution.

Opposing seasons make improving water quality in Cambodia even more challenging as natural disasters intensify. Floods during the wet season carry debris and sewage, further contaminating water sources and damaging sanitation infrastructure. Relief is brief after the wet season, as the dry season brings droughts that deplete the remaining safe water sources. These harsh seasonal conditions force many Cambodians living in floodplains to rely on unsafe wells and surface water throughout the seasons.

What’s Changing?

Despite the challenges, progress is taking shape as local organizations partner with UNICEF’s WASH Program (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) to improve access to clean water, sanitation infrastructure and hygiene education.

Organizations such as Water for Cambodia are working to restore freshwater as a reliable source. Schools and homes can now use BioSand Water Filters to turn contaminated water into safe drinking water. Built using local materials, it filters polluted water through sand and gravel, producing clean water within minutes. One filter can give a family direct access to clean water for years, all while using the resources around them. New wells, rainwater systems and pipelines are also being built, creating dependable water sources in communities across the country.

Water for Women is tackling gaps in sanitation infrastructure by connecting more than 360,000 people in rural Cambodia to clean hygiene practices. The program improves WASH standards by providing sanitation products, building sheltered latrines and developing safe waste management systems. By prioritizing resilient infrastructure that can withstand floods and droughts, Water for Women is working to create long-term solutions to improve water quality in Cambodia. By equipping communities with the tools to prevent contamination, access to clean water becomes more reliable year-round.

Looking Ahead

To ensure lasting change, Water for Cambodia is investing in hygiene education for schools and households, providing communities with the tools and knowledge to stay healthy. By providing hygiene kits and educational sessions, the program ensures new infrastructure is actively used. Showing real progress is made when clean water, facilities and healthy habits are accessible.

The path to clean water is far from finished, but steady progress is being made. With local innovation, community leadership and global support, Cambodians are slowly breaking the cycle, creating resilient infrastructure to improve water quality and access.

– Hope Jowharian

Hope is based in Paris, France and focuses on Good News for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr

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Pay-As-You-Go Digital Water Services in Kenya

Pay-as-you-go digital water services in KenyaKenya continues to face serious water insecurity in both rural and urban regions. Many households still depend on distant or unsafe water points because traditional billing systems require large monthly payments that low-income families cannot always make. Pay-as-you-go digital water services in Kenya offer a different model. Families buy small amounts of water through mobile payments and smart meters deliver accurate and dependable service. This structure increases affordability, improves service reliability and strengthens utilities in ways that help them expand clean water access to underserved communities.

Mobile Money Makes Clean Water Affordable

Pay-as-you-go digital water services in Kenya let households buy water in small increments through mobile money platforms like M-Pesa. This matters because many Kenyans earn irregular daily wages and cannot manage large monthly bills. When families pay only for what they need, they avoid debt and gain steady access to safe water, which supports health and financial stability.

Waterborne diseases spread quickly in communities that rely on unsafe sources. Pay-as-you-go digital water services in Kenya distribute treated water that meets safety standards, which reduces illness and lowers medical expenses. When families stay healthy, they attend school, work more regularly and invest their income in food and education rather than treatment costs.

Smart Meters and Water Kiosks

Smart meters record water use in real time and deliver prepaid service that prevents leaks and illegal taps. These problems create major losses for utilities and weaken their ability to maintain infrastructure. When utilities reduce losses, they provide more reliable service and reach more households with clean water, which raises community health and overall quality of life.

Families in many Kenyan settlements spend long hours each day collecting water. Digital water kiosks in neighborhoods reduce this travel time and offer 24-hour access through mobile payments. More available time allows children to attend school consistently and gives adults more hours for work, which strengthens household income and supports long-term development.

Digital Water Systems Create Jobs and Strengthen Utilities

Digital water systems create new roles for technicians, field agents and mobile service operators. These jobs build technical skills and support local employment. Stronger utilities also operate more reliably and expand service to new regions. When utilities stabilize financially, they improve infrastructure that helps entire communities gain safe water access.

Pay-as-you-go digital water services in Kenya improve clean water access by combining mobile payments with smart delivery systems. These services reduce financial barriers, improve public health and create jobs that support economic growth. As the model expands, it offers a practical path toward universal water access and long-term poverty reduction.

– Shahzeb Khan

Shahzeb is based in San Ramon, CA, USA and focuses on Good News and Technology for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr

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Restoring Guatemala’s Motagua River and Communities

Guatemala’s Motagua RiverFor a large percentage of rural Guatemalans, rivers function as important lifelines that provide water for drinking, cooking and agriculture. Yet decades of neglect and poor waste management have turned rivers like the Motagua, Guatemala’s largest watercourse, into polluted landfills and made them breeding grounds for disease. To address the problem, a mix of private, governmental and grassroots organizations has banded together to begin restoring Guatemala’s Motagua River and communities.

The Motagua River’s Importance

Communities settled along the banks of the Motagua River are among the most vulnerable in Guatemala, where 56% of country at large is already living in poverty. Many rural and indigenous families depend on the river for daily survival despite its contamination by plastic waste and untreated sewage.

Because of underdeveloped infrastructure, they do not have another choice: 40% of Guatemalans lack access to running water and basic plumbing inside their homes, forced to rely on rivers, wells or rainwater, which is why, in the interim, successfully restoring Guatemala’s Motagua River and communities is crucial.

The Cost of Polluted Waters

The Motagua River carries almost 20,000 tons of solid waste annually as it passes through nearly 100 municipalities before emptying into the Caribbean Sea. For the impoverished communities relying on it as a daily water source, this poses a serious health risk.

Contaminated water spreads illnesses and diseases like diarrhea and hepatitis, particularly affecting children and the elderly. Costs linked to treating these maladies exacerbate existing poverty conditions and reduce quality of life.

Pollution also damages economic livelihoods. Motagua River fish populations have plummeted and farmers relying on river water for irrigation risk crop contamination or die-off. With few resources and limited state support, entire communities face food insecurity and economic instability.

Cleanup and Restoration Efforts

Multi-partnership cleanup initiatives have begun to address the growing crisis. Nonprofit organizations like The Ocean Cleanup, in partnership with Kia and Guatemala’s Ministry of Environment, have deployed interception systems in the Motagua River to catch plastic before it reaches the Caribbean Sea, improving the health of the river, the lives of the riverfront residents and raising awareness of the link between responsible disposal practices and health.

Grassroots groups are also mobilizing. The Alliance for the Motagua River brings together NGOs such as the Ocean Legacy Foundation, community leaders and local governments under an “EPIC” strategy: Education, Policy, Infrastructure and Cleanup, to usher in lasting change. This community-driven approach galvanizes local communities to improve their surroundings, and therefore their food and water security.

These cleanup initiatives dedicated to restoring Guatemala’s Motagua River and communities recognize the link between environmental and economic health. Safe water improves food security and supports agriculture, while the replenishment of fish stocks, in addition to sustenance, provides economic improvement. The World Bank states that healthy watercourses are vital to sustainable development and resilient local economies, paving the way for poverty reduction.

Restoration and Renewal

Restoring Guatemala’s Motagua River and communities is both an environmental and humanitarian mission rolled into one. Access to clean water forms the basis of health, education and livelihood, especially for Guatemala’s indigenous and rural communities. Realizing the goal of a clean river is one more step toward humanitarian and economic stability.

The Motagua River’s restoration shows that collaboration between communities, governments and global partners can lead to lasting impact. As Guatemala moves toward a sustainable water future, its riverbanks may once again become places of life, resilience and renewal, giving it the stable bedrock necessary to focus on expanding water infrastructure and lifting its riverfront communities permanently out of poverty.

– Nikola Stojkovic

Nikola is based in Villa Park, IL, USA and focuses on Global Health for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr

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Clean Water Access in Nigeria: How Communities Solve the Crisis

Clean Water Access in NigeriaRural communities in Nigeria face the steepest hurdles to access clean, safe drinking water and basic sanitation. Many households still rely on unprotected wells, streams or vendors, while schools and clinics struggle without reliable WASH services. UNICEF estimates that millions remain without basic drinking water and that open defecation persists on a large scale, with the burden falling hardest on rural families.

Nigeria’s Water Sanitation and Hygiene National Outcome Routine Mapping (WASHNORM) 2021 assessment shows wide rural and wealth-based gaps in access, underscoring the need to invest where services lag the most.

Health and School Attendance

Unsafe water and poor sanitation drive diarrheal disease, cholera outbreaks and undernutrition, which in turn keep children out of class. Schools without toilets or handwashing stations see higher absenteeism and girls are more likely to miss lessons during menstruation when facilities are inadequate.

UNICEF reporting links improved school WASH to better attendance and fewer disease outbreaks, while global WASH-in-Schools data show that safe water, private toilets and soap at school are tied to learning and dignity, particularly for girls.

WaterAid Nigeria: Community WASH in Action

WaterAid Nigeria partners with state governments and communities to install and maintain water points, expand sanitation and promote everyday hygiene behaviors. Its 2023–2028 country strategy prioritizes systems strengthening so local authorities can finance, operate and sustain services beyond a single project cycle.

WaterAid is also part of technical groups that support behavior change, supply chains and accountability, helping rural districts build reliable access and keep services working.

Clean Nigeria: Use the Toilet

The federal government’s Clean Nigeria campaign aims to end open defecation by 2025 and move households toward safely managed sanitation. The campaign mobilizes states, local governments and households through community-led approaches, public awareness and certification of open defecation-free areas.

UNICEF supports the effort with technical assistance and outreach and recent updates highlight the urgency of accelerating progress so that gains are sustained across rural districts.

National Action Plan: A Path to 2030

Nigeria’s National Action Plan for the Revitalization of the WASH Sector sets a three-phase roadmap that includes an 18-month emergency plan, a five-year recovery program and a long-term strategy through 2030.

The plan outlines a renewed federal-state partnership, more precise service targets and stronger financing so rural communities can gain and sustain access. Civil society groups summarize how the plan links with the national sanitation campaign, aligning policy and implementation at the state and local levels.

Building Pathways Out of Poverty

Expanding rural access to clean, safe water and sanitation reduces disease, protects household income and keeps children in school in Nigeria. It also creates jobs in construction, operations and local supply chains. Indeed, the World Bank’s SURWASH program projects service gains in water and sanitation and upgrades in schools and health facilities, complementing Clean Nigeria and NGO partnerships.

Continued investment in these approaches could help Nigeria scale reliable services and unlock health and education gains that drive long-term poverty reduction.

– Joseph Hasty

Joseph is based in Winter Park, FL, USA and focuses on Technology and Global Health for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr