Matt Damon and his global non-profit Water.Org have teamed up with the Bezos Earth Fund to ensure more people have access to safe water and sanitation.
The Hollywood star, along with with Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos and journalist Lauren Sanchez, have announced a $10 million grant from the Fund will go towards improving water infrastructure for 20 million people in regions disproportionately impacted by the climate crisis.
According to the organisations, purifying and pumping water requires huge amounts of electricity and on average, one third of all water utilities pump through their pipes is lost to leaks. In some places, over half is lost. Fixing these problems will mean less leakage, more clean water, fewer carbon emissions and, ultimately, communities with better health and livelihoods.
“Improving and expanding the ability of local utility providers to deliver safe water and improved sanitation services is critical to helping people living in poverty build resiliency to the effects of climate change like water scarcity, droughts, and floods,” Matt said.
“In partnership with the Bezos Earth Fund, we’re dedicated to solving the water crisis which is inextricably linked to the climate crisis.”
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In their joint announcement, the organisations note that with global temperatures rising and weather events intensifying, communities living in poverty in developing countries are at risk of fresh water supply shortages.
Long-term, the partnership between Water.org and the Bezos Earth Fund ultimately aims to improve access to clean water for 100 million people.
“Access to safe water is crucial,” Lauren Sanchez, Vice Chair of the Fund said.
“Water.org’s efforts to tackle the water crisis and improve access to safe water and sanitation also reduces water and energy waste. We’re proud to help this team bring access to safe water to millions of people while helping advance critical climate and biodiversity goals.”
Communities in India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Kenya and Brazil will benefit from the efforts.
(Feature Image Credit: Christina Peterson/CelebrityKind)
