Health | Hunger | Poverty | Education

How Poverty and Water are Related

There are a number of reasons why poverty has become an epidemic in Africa. Poverty can be the result of political instability, ethnic conflicts, climate change and many other reasons.

But one of the most prominent yet overlooked causes of poverty in Africa is the lack of access to clean drinking water.

The good news is that we learn much of the poverty in Africa is then a solvable problem.

How does water affect poverty in Africa?

Water is the foundation of everything. Lack of it is an often insurmountable obstacle. Without good access to water, you can't grow food, you can't build housing, and most of all you can't stay healthy.

Sickness and Poverty

Poor health leads to poor productivity. The sickness caused by dirty water saps people's energy to do much of anything. Just remember what it was like the last time you had food poisoning. It's the same thing.

Students who suffer from water borne illness can't stay in class. They miss out on the chance to learn and the cycle of poverty continues.

The lack of safe water and proper sanitation in the developing world is felt most by rural dwellers and the urban poor. With few medical resources at their disposal, the poor are particularly vulnerable to chronic illnesses that hinder their productivity, making the escape from poverty even more difficult.

Wasted Time

With unclean water sources often miles from villages, many of the able bodied members of a community are forced to spend hours each day simply finding and transporting water.

This is incredibly valuable time. With much of one's day already consumed by meeting basic needs, these hours lost to gathering water are often the difference between time to do a trade and earn a living and not.

The social and economic effects cause by a lack of clean water are often the highest priorities of African communities when they speak of their own development.

Your Response

The goal of The Water Project community is to bring clean, sustainable water supplies to within a 1km (1/2 mile) of villages. By doing so, communities can be freed to begin working themselves out of poverty.

Water projects make sustainable agriculture possible. They allow children to regularly attend school. They break the cycle of poverty in Africa.

Improving access to safe water supplies makes collecting water - typically the responsibility of women and girls - more convenient, less time-consuming, and less physically demanding. Women have a chance to learn new skills and become even more productive.

Men find more time to care for their family, maintain a farm, and even run a small business.

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