Water

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Governance

Pope Leo XIV attends the Mass for Jubilee of Youth in Tor Vergata, in Rome, Italy, on August 3, 2025.

New Pope Brings Health-Care Hope

by Susan K. Barnett

Nearing 100 days of papacy, Pope Leo XIV could renew interest and investment in global health

Environment

A man pours water on the polluted banks of river Ganges, in Kolkata, India, on October 20, 2010.

The Ganges Water-Sharing Treaty Needs a Climate Makeover

by Zakaria Bin Amjad

Set to expire in 2026, the 30-year treaty could be remade to safeguard environmental and human health

Fishermen row their boats as they catch fish on the Indus River, in Sukkur, Pakistan, on March 19, 2017.

Environment

The India-Pakistan Water Dispute: Unpacking the Health Consequences

by Neda Zawahri, Melissa McCracken

Suspending the Indus Waters Treaty could disrupt Pakistan's ability to handle floods, droughts, and pollution

Environment

Microplastics Above Mexico: A High-Altitude Search for Pollution

by William McCarthy, Jacob Bartz, Thomas Copeland, Simon Birk, Dimitri Deheyn

Students collect saliva samples at 18,500 feet to uncover how microplastics in the atmosphere could harm health

Students walk past the debris, mostly plastic waste dumped into the river by the people, as the flood water recedes from the bank of Bagmati river following the deadly flood due to heavy rains, in Kathmandu, Nepal, October 2, 2024.

Urbanization

Polluted Rivers Create a Public Health Crisis in Nepal

by Tanka Dhakal

Unchecked urbanization has led to a surge of waterborne diseases among Nepal's poorest communities

Ddungu Annet, a 39-year-old nursing officer, washes her hands in the labor ward before examining an expectant mother at Nabweru Health Center, Uganda.

Poverty

The Economic Constraints on Clean Water

Investing in water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) reduces the financial costs of disease outbreaks

Women wait to collect water in the drought stricken Somali region.

Environment

Treating East Africa's Water Conflicts With AI and Big Data

by Sabeeha Quereshi

How AI and big data can help resolve water-related refugee crises and armed conflicts

Traditional Maasai women collect water from a borehole, at the Lositeti village, in Matapato North, Kajiado County, Kenya, on February 26, 2023.

Poverty

Kenya's Fluoride Problem

by Joseph Maina

Heavy fluoride in Kenya's water supply has consequences for the country's health and economy

Zapotec woman washes her hands during the COVID-19 pandemic in Oaxaca state, Mexico, on March 31, 2020.

Environment

Remembering Paul Simon's Water for the World Act

Poverty

Water Is Life

by Susan K. Barnett

An interview with Cardinal Michael F. Czerny on the Catholic Church’s water, sanitation, and hygiene project

An aerial view of the green campus with earth-colored buildings alongside a river

Food

Rethinking Farming in Rwanda

by Susan K. Barnett

The Rwandan Institute for Conservation Agriculture wants to empower small farmers

A woman sits next to Po's dry riverbed, as parts of Italy's longest river have dried up due to the worst drought in the last 70 years, in Turin, Italy

Environment

Italy's Po River

by Serena Giacomin

How a recent heat wave is affecting Italy's longest river

A student washes her hands after clean up at a school in response to the novel coronavirus pandemic in Abuja, Nigeria on March 20, 2020. The photo shows a pair of hands actively lathering under a water tap against a blue background. REUTERS/Afolabi Sotunde

Poverty

Where WASH Figures in the COVID-19 Fight

by Katherine E. Bliss, Tanvi Nagpal

Hard-sought health security in sub-Saharan Africa should build on WASH programs, which are already proven to save lives

A hand pump provides access to water in the village of Lal Bux Lund in Pakistan's Sindh province on July 8, 2011, but 1 in 4 health facilities around the world lack basic water services. The picture shows two girls, one pumping, the other washing, and both laughing. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro

Urbanization

Getting WASH into Health Care Facilities: An Urgent Global Health Need

by John Simon, Susan K. Barnett

Will the UN’s prioritization of clean water, sanitation and hand washing in health care facilities finally breed action?