Since the early 1990s, 1 billion people have gained access to clean water worldwide thanks to government initiatives and nongovernmental projects, but another billion are still in need. Dirty drinking water and poor sanitation facilities cause a host of health problems, including diarrhea, dehydration, cholera, malaria, and giardia, primarily in the world's less developed countries. These maladies are often fatal, but even when they're not, they usually keep the afflicted from working, parenting, studying, or otherwise participating in the activities that drive communities' prosperity.
Residents of Haraf Village, Somalia now have a cleaner,
cheaper, and more reliable source of water thanks to a new solar-powered pump that provides water to several communities in a region where the resource is extremely scarce.