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Around the world, there are still millions of women whose day begins with walking miles to fetch water. For decades, carrying heavy buckets has been part of their daily routine—and that of their mothers and grandmothers. But that reality is beginning to change. Today, thanks to safe access to water, thousands of women are transforming their lives, regaining time, health, and the ability to make decisions about their own lives and those of their communities.
To commemorate World Water Day, celebrated on March 22, Ayuda en Acción wants to highlight a reality that remains a global challenge: around 1.8 billion people worldwide still lack access to safe drinking water in their homes.
In most cases, moreover, women are responsible for getting it. In two out of every three households, women are the ones who fetch water, a task that involves long daily walks. It is estimated that women and girls together spend 250 million hours a day on this work—more than three times as much as men and boys.
This inequality has direct consequences: it limits girls’ and women’s access to education, reduces their employment opportunities, and increases health risks, especially when the available water is unsafe.
When Water Changes Lives
In 2025, our water and sanitation projects provided 70,000 people with access to safe drinking water for the first time. Of these, about 25,000 live in Latin America and 45,000 in Africa.
Half of them are women who today not only use water but also participate in its management and even lead decisions regarding its use within their communities.
Access to safe water has a direct impact on their daily lives:
- They regain the time they used to spend walking for hours to fetch water.
- Their health and well-being improve as illnesses associated with consuming contaminated water are reduced.
- Their autonomy increases as they participate in water committees, make decisions about water resources, and plan for their community’s future.
“Ensuring access to water isn’t just about turning on a tap: it’s about opening up opportunities for women to thrive, make decisions, and lead,” explains Andrés Oleas, a specialist in Social and Environmental Water Management at Ayuda en Acción in Ecuador.
Communities Leading the Change
Ecuador is one of the countries where we have carried out the most projects related to the social and environmental management of water. There, we have provided access to drinking water to more than 165,000 people through the construction, rehabilitation, and maintenance of more than 400 water systems.
The work also includes the protection of more than 650 hectares of moorlands, native forests, and water recharge areas, which are essential for ensuring the long-term availability of this resource.
In addition, there is the National Water School, a training center where communities learn to manage and care for their water systems. Furthermore, a web application has been developed to facilitate community-based water management.
In rural communities across the country, women like Carmen, president of her local water board in Azuay, now lead these systems. Thanks to the training they have received, they manage the service, plan for the sustainable use of the resource, and promote environmental initiatives such as the protection of water sources and moorlands.
Women in water leadership
Our projects aim to provide access to safe water, but also to promote hygiene, sanitation, and community-based water management practices. Our main areas of focus include:
- Construction and rehabilitation of water systems in rural communities, including wells, water collection systems, and distribution networks.
- Installation of sanitation infrastructure in schools and community spaces.
- Hygiene education programs to prevent disease and promote sustainable habits.
- Community-based water management, ensuring that the resource is managed equitably and sustainably by the community itself, with a special focus on women.
This female leadership is evident in other parts of the world.
In Mexico, women are involved in rainwater harvesting and storage projects.
In Mozambique, they lead the rehabilitation and maintenance of wells that supply their communities.
In El Salvador, they manage mangrove restoration initiatives to protect ecosystems and ensure access to water in the future.
A global challenge that requires female leadership
Despite progress, universal access to water remains an unmet goal. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 6 aims to ensure access to water and sanitation for all by 2030, but the current pace of progress is still insufficient.
Climate change, pollution, and growing pressure on water resources make women’s participation in water management increasingly important.
As Fiorella Mackliff, manager of Ayuda en Acción in Ecuador, points out, “Every safe water project that reaches a community is also a project to empower women. When women gain access to water, they gain access to time, opportunities, and the ability to make decisions about their own lives.”
