Matt Damon and Gary White: The Key to Solving the Global Water Crisis

The global water crisis is one of the most urgent and complex challenges facing humanity today. More than 2.2 billion people lack access to safe water, and 3.5 billion lack access to safely managed sanitation. This crisis undermines health and safety, education, and economic opportunity. For communities already struggling, the consequences are devastating: children miss school, women spend hours each day collecting water, and families face increased exposure to waterborne diseases.

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When we talk about the global water crisis, we often focus on water scarcity. However, in many regions, even where water is available, access can be unreliable and unaffordable. And for the billions of people who live without safely managed water and sanitation, this lack leads to contaminated water sources, and also undermines public health, reduces financial stability, and perpetuates cycles of poverty.

These challenges are exacerbated due to rising temperatures, prolonged droughts, and extreme weather events intensifying water scarcity and disrupting fragile systems, leaving families—particularly those in poverty—without reliable access to safe water. In cities like Mexico City, groundwater depletion and erratic weather patterns make water trucks a daily necessity. Without resilient infrastructure, communities face compromised water quality, greater exposure to disease, and limited economic opportunities. Investing in sustainable water solutions is essential to address immediate needs, safeguard public health, and reduce the escalating costs of climate-related challenges.

Read More: The Water Crisis No One In America Is Fixing

Achieving safely managed water and sanitation for all by 2030 requires an estimated $114 billion per year, starting in 2016. Yet, with only $28.4 billion currently being invested annually, a staggering $85.6 billion gap remains—one that keeps millions of families without access to these essential resources. This shortfall isn’t just a funding issue; it’s the single biggest barrier to solving the global water crisis. Traditional aid alone is not enough to bridge this divide. To close the gap, we must mobilize the full spectrum of capital—philanthropy to innovate and prove solutions, and investment capital to scale them. By harnessing market-driven approaches, we can accelerate access to safe water and sanitation, transforming millions of lives and unlocking improved health, access to education and jobs, and opportunities for families around the world to define their futures.

We must close this gap. Doing so would both advance progress toward universal access to water and sanitation and unlock significant economic benefits. According to the World Bank, every $1 invested in water and sanitation yields a $4 economic return, driven by reduced health-care costs, increased workforce productivity, and lower mortality rates.

For too long, capital has been viewed in silos—philanthropy on one side and investment on the other. Today, we recognize capital as a spectrum, from charitable contributions to impact-driven investments with both risk and potential returns. Philanthropy can address market failures and lay the groundwork for scalable solutions, while investments follow to drive growth. This spectrum is particularly critical in solving the water and sanitation crisis, where engagement at every level is needed to create sustainable impact.

Philanthropy plays a catalytic role by empowering local financial institutions to serve families in need. It helps build markets and strengthen institutional capacity, enabling the development of affordable loan products for water and sanitation solutions. This foundation attracts impact investors, who bring additional capital to expand these efforts and meet growing demand. Together, philanthropic and private investments create a sustainable cycle: loans are repaid, markets grow, and millions of families gain access to safe water resulting in improved health, resilience, and financial stability.

The global water crisis disproportionately affects women and girls, who spend 200 million hours collecting water. In many regions, this time-consuming task prevents them from fully participating in education or income-generating activities, caring for family, and achieving their potential. Through our work with Water.org and Water Equity, we’ve seen countless examples of the impact even small, individual investments can make. Zipporah, a small-scale farmer from Kenya, took out a loan to install a rainwater collection tank, allowing her to balance her farming with her education and reducing the time it takes to source water for her family. Now studying to become a nurse, Zipporah plans to open a clinic in her community and take out another loan to ensure her clinic has a reliable water supply.

Stories like this demonstrate how the right blend of philanthropic and investment capital can accelerate progress by making life-changing solutions available today while also laying a foundation for long-term growth. By harnessing the full spectrum of capital, we can scale this proven approach to reach more people faster, creating lasting impacts for families and communities. Solutions like these improve health and education outcomes, empower women, and enable families to thrive, transforming their futures.

The global water crisis is one of the most urgent challenges of our time. And solutions exist today. By closing the $85.6 billion annual financing gap, leveraging the full spectrum of capital, and scaling sustainable access to safe water and sanitation, we can unlock profound social and economic benefits.

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