Access to clean, safe water for drinking, cooking, bathing, and washing is a key determinant for infectious disease control and prevention, however, a 2020 study reports that in sub-Saharan Africa nearly 300 million people live there in water-stressed environments.

And clean water, while always a basic necessity of life, is more urgent today than ever in light of the COVID-19 pandemic to control the spread of the deadly virus.

That’s why at Bread and Water for Africa^® we have been working for decades to dig wells, protect springs, construct pipelines, and more to help ensure that villages, schools, hospitals, and clinics — as well as members of the surrounding community — have all the water they need to go about their daily lives without risking illness, or even death, every time they take a drink of water.

In recent years, we have protected springs in Uganda, dug wells in Ethiopia and Cameroon and this year is no different as we hope to expand our water program, especially as need is increasingly critical.

The study notes that washing hands with soap and water for 20 seconds, repeatedly throughout the day, is critical to prevent transmission of the virus.

“In many sub-Saharan African settings, this is an unimaginable luxury,” the report states.

World Water Day, March 22, is about what water means to people, its true value, and how we can better protect this vital resource.

At Bread and Water for Africa^®, thanks to our supporters, we have been, and are continuing to do all we can year after year to “protect this vital resource” for untold thousands of those living in water-stressed communities to make access to clean water a “luxury” no more.