Water For People Receives $15M
donation from MacKenzie Scott
Gift from billionaire philanthropist will be
used to scale sustainable water and sanitation solutions
globally
Water For People,
a nonprofit working across Latin America, Asia, and Africa
to sustainably address the global water crisis, announced a
transformational gift of $15 million from noted
philanthropic leader MacKenzie Scott on Wednesday
. The donation will catalyze
Water For People’s Destination 2030 strategy,
which aims to bring sustainable water, sanitation, and
hygiene (WASH) to more than 200 million people globally by
2030.
There are 2 billion people who lack access to
safe water and sanitation which leads to millions of
preventable deaths each year.
Women and girls are left walking miles each day for water for their
families and dropping out of school when their periods come.
Without focused attention and investment, the poor, the most marginalized,
and those most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change
are left behind with faulty infrastructure, contaminated
water supplies, unsafe conditions and diminished economic
opportunities.
“The water crisis is solvable,”
says Water For People Co-CEO Mark Duey.
“What has been missing is the catalytic funding needed to
scale our systems-change approaches in communities around
the world. MacKenzie’s gift means that Water For People is
able to ramp up quickly and bring our proven solution into
more communities throughout the world. This is essential as
we look towards delivering our ambitious Destination 2030
strategy. The fact that she is gifting this without
restrictions means that we – along with our partners – can
truly create sustainable, generations-lasting change.”
Accelerating progress toward achieving
Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6)
– water and sanitation for all by 2030
– is no small undertaking.
Water For People
invites partners, donors, and governments to join in closing
the gap for the estimated 2 billion plus people globally who
still lack sustainable access to safe water, and the over 4
billion who lack access to safely managed sanitation.
The World Bank estimates that achieving SDG6 will cost
approximately US $114 billion a year.
Born out of the American Water Works
Association in 1991 in Denver, Colorado, Water For People
works across nine countries to achieve lasting access to
clean water and sanitation services.
In bringing together communities, local entrepreneurs, and governments to
build, operate, and maintain their own systems, Water For
People ensures that every family, health clinic, and school
has access to safe water and sanitation that will last for
generations to come.
“We are so grateful to Mackenzie Scott for
her belief in our mission and her trust in our local teams
to create generational impact around the world. Access to
clean water is a human right,”
says Katherine Williford, Chief Growth Officer.
“We are committed to leveraging this investment to ensure everyone —
including the hardest-to-reach — has access to safe and
reliable water services, forever.”
waterforpeace.org
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