About REACH

Living in poverty often means a struggle for water security. Rapid urban growth, unregulated pollution from industry, extreme floods and droughts, lack of reliable and safe drinking water, and increasing damage to water ecosystems threaten economies and undermine the lives of the poor.  

Improving water security is an important pathway to sustainable growth and poverty reduction. With better evidence, institutional and infrastructure investments can unlock growth opportunities and help people move out of poverty.      

The REACH programme improved water security for over 10 million vulnerable people in Africa and Asia, and advanced thinking on rural water finance to provide reliable water services for 100 million people by 2030 by:  

• generating new evidence on water security through an innovative, interdisciplinary, risk-based approach
  
• establishing science, practitioner and enterprise partnerships to ground the research and maximise impact for the most vulnerable people 
• building capacity and networks for the next generation of water managers and scientists in Africa and South Asia.