Amazon Clean Water & Nutrition

Lack of potable water severely impacts the world’s poorest communities. In the Amazon rainforest, marginalized Indigenous peoples often have little or no access to education or healthcare, living on less than $1 a day, which makes them particularly vulnerable to health issues. Providing these communities with access to clean water can significantly reduce health risks and promote healthier living.

In 2023, The Waterbearers and Edesia Nutrition collaborated on a pilot project to prevent and reduce high rates of childhood malnutrition while improving the health of Indigenous peoples in the Ecuadorian Amazon. While malnutrition is not classified as a waterborne disease, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 50% of undernutrition is linked to repeated episodes of diarrhea caused by intestinal worm infections, which are often the result of unsafe water, poor sanitation, or inadequate hygiene.

**Urgent Need: Water and Malnutrition**

While working to improve access to drinking water in Taisha, located in the province of Morona Santiago, The Waterbearers’ technical team discovered alarming rates of childhood malnutrition among children under five in the Achuar and Shuar communities. In Morona Santiago, the nutritional status of children in the Amazon is particularly concerning. Chronic malnutrition affects 34.03% of children under five, highlighting a significant issue (STECSDI, 2024).

Recognizing the urgent need for an effective nutritional solution, The Waterbearers and the Wakani Foundation developed a healthy dietary snack produced in Ecuador. Now, combined with access to safe drinking water for each family, children under five years old are benefiting from this initiative.