Clean water: it’s a basic human need. Yet worldwide, some 1 billion people lack access to clean, safe water supplies. Another 2.2 billion lack access to sanitation. The combination is deadly. Every day in the developing world, 24,000 children under the age of five die from preventable, waterborne diseases. With rapid urban growth and a slum population approaching 100 million residents, India:

• Provides water distribution only a few hours a day in 35 cities with more than a million residents each.
• Loses an estimated 90 million days of productivity a year to waterborne diseases.
• Accounts for fully a quarter of all children under 5 killed by diarrhea each year.

But there’s reason for hope. Simple access to clean water and basic sanitation can dramatically reduce disease and mortality.

With this in mind, we have worked since 2005 to pair microfinance with scalable and sustainable models for delivering water and sanitation services to the urban poor. Access to affordable microcredit has helped more than 30,000 impoverished urban families install toilets, and get access to water and sewage services at home.

In terms of public health, the payoff has been substantial with one program driving a 50 percent plus reduction in water-related diseases including typhoid, jaundice, diarrhea, cholera and malaria. And with fewer sick days, these families can better focus on work, school and the future.