Great.com Interviews Safe Water Network About Bringing Safe Sustainable Water To Ghana And India

Joshua Rhodes from Great.com interviewed Safe Water Network as part of their ‘Great.com Talks With…’ podcast. This series sheds light on organizations and experts whose work is making a positive impact on the world as an antidote to negative news stories.

Many people don’t realize that long-term access to clean water presents huge logistical and technical challenges. The Safe Drinking Water Act acts as a reassuring guarantee for Americans, but many people living in the developing world are not so lucky.

Donors throughout the world are keen to ensure developing countries have access to clean water. But some charities merely offer a band-aid solution. Safe Water Network alum Gillian Winkler (formerly VP of Strategic Partnerships) discussed securing the long-term health of water infrastructure in Ghana and India.

Affordable Drinking Water For Local People
Safe Water Network partners with local governments, social entrepreneurs and community groups to implement locally owned and operated safe water stations. The goal is universal and equitable access to water and water systems. Their stations serve a geography of 1.7 million people in both rural and urban communities.

Gillian explained that the main challenge is not so much the failure of water pumps or maintaining water quality, which are some of the most common problems water charities face, but rather a lack of local management or financial capacity among people living with water scarcity. Often as communities grow, their need for access to safe water becomes greater and local authorities lack the ability to sustain basic water services. Safe Water Network works with local communities to build capacity so people can consistently access safe water sustainably and affordably over the long-term.

Listen to the whole interview to find out how COVID has drastically affected the logistics of managing a safe water supply.