WATER & GENDER
Where water flows, equality grows
WATER.
A FUNDAMENTAL NECESSITY.
Belu exists to change the way the world sees water. We do this by investing 100% of our net profits into our purpose. This has meant since 2011 we have given £6.5m to WaterAid to fund clean water projects across the globe.
The money we give to WaterAid helps fund their work in 22 countries, working alongside communities so that everyone, everywhere has clean water. Water is the foundation for good health and a life full of opportunity. Along with decent toilets and good hygiene, clean water means people can break free from poverty and build the lives they want, with dignity.
THE IMPORTANCE OF WATER
Where people lack safe drinking water and sanitation, women and girls are most affected, spending hours collecting water, issues with maternal care, caring for those made ill, and missing out on education and opportunity. Through our partnership with WaterAid, our support helps bring clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene to communities where it’s needed most, reducing this burden and protecting health. By funding long‑term, community‑led solutions, we’re helping ensure women and girls can spend less time surviving and more time learning, working and leading change.
PROPER
HYGIENE
MATERNAL
CARE
EDUCATION &
PROSPERITY
Asatta M Gray
LIBERIA
READ HER STORY
For years, access to clean water and sanitation at the Bomboja clinic in Liberia was extremely limited, placing women, newborns, and health workers at risk. During childbirth, water was often unavailable, forcing caretakers to leave the facility to fetch water from the surrounding community. This created delays, compromised hygiene, and added stress during already difficult and vulnerable moments.
The lack of basic facilities affected dignity as well as health. There was no bathroom or shower in the delivery room, meaning women often had to leave the clinic unwashed after giving birth, or return home immediately to bathe. Without private toilets or reliable water at the point of care, women’s privacy was limited and infection risks were higher. These conditions discouraged some women from staying at the clinic before delivery or choosing to give birth there at all.
The pressure extended beyond the clinic. Limited water infrastructure also affected nearby communities, where families struggled to access clean drinking water, increasing the burden on the clinic’s already fragile system.
Last year, WaterAid Liberia work to expand and upgrade the delivery room bathroom, equipping it with gender‑responsive sanitation and menstrual hygiene facilities, including a shower for patients.
A handwashing station was also constructed,, enabling patients, caregivers, and health workers to practice hygiene behaviours. To ease pressure on the clinic’s water system and improve access for surrounding households, an additional water outlet was installed for the nearby community. Together, these improvements now benefit an estimated 4,000 people.
To ensure long‑term sustainability, a committee made up of clinic staff and community representatives was trained in operation and maintenance.
For women like Asatta, who is expecting her third child, the change is profound. Water is now available during labour, a bathroom and shower are accessible within the delivery room, and dignity, privacy, and safety are restored.
Chinyama Bbuku Cornhill
Zambia
READ HER STORY
For many years, access to clean water in Chabota, Zambia was a major challenge. The community relied largely on shallow wells and inconsistent water sources, which were vulnerable to contamination and seasonal shortages. As the population grew, pressure on these limited sources increased, contributing to hygiene issues and cases of waterborne illness, including diarrhoea.
The local health clinic faced particular difficulties. Water supply was unreliable, , forcing staff to collect water manually during labour and delivery. This compromised hygiene, increased risk for mothers and newborns, and discouraged some women from giving birth at the clinic altogether.
Now, a borehole and solar powered water system has been constructed, and two water kiosks serve the community with clean water.
The system initially served around 2,600 people and has since become central to daily life, with some households investing in private piped connections.
For the local clinic, the impact has been transformative. Reliable, treated water now supports safer childbirth, improved hygiene, and greater confidence in local healthcare.
Margaret Jasten
Malawi
READ HER STORY
In Ntchisi District, Malawi, Chinguluwe Health Centre serves a large catchment area of almost 26,000 people and sees more than 250 patients each day. The facility previously faced severe water shortages, with staff, patients, and the surrounding community relying on a single borehole with infrequent water supply.These conditions made basic hygiene and infection prevention extremely difficult.
In response, WaterAid worked with the community and local partners to install a solar-powered water supply system was to provide consistent access to water. This intervention ensured that clean water was available at critical points of care, including in delivery rooms, enabling safer childbirth and better hygiene for patients and staff alike.
For women like Margaret, a mother of four who has delivered all her children at Chinguluwe, the difference has been significant. Water is now readily available during labour, and health workers can focus on delivering quality care.
Rukhsana, Rabia, and Shaista
PAKISTAN
READ THEIR STORY
Badin Taluka, a coastal region in Sindh with a population of nearly two million, is an area rich in history but facing severe water and sanitation challenges. Once part of the Indus Valley civilisation, known for advanced urban planning and drainage, the region now struggles with chronic water scarcity, poor hygiene infrastructure, and widespread waterborne disease.
Many communities lack basic sanitation facilities, with no household toilets and limited access to clean water. Women and girls often walk long distances to collect water, exposing them to physical strain and safety risks. These challenges are compounded by climate change, which has brought increasingly frequent floods, droughts, cyclones, and extreme heat. Together, these pressures have intensified health risks, particularly for children, and placed significant strain on already vulnerable communities.
In schools and health facilities, the lack of safe water and functioning toilets undermines education, dignity, and wellbeing. Poor hygiene practices increase the spread of preventable illness, while limited infrastructure restricts communities’ ability to adapt to climate-related shocks.
In response, the project “Envisioning and catalysing PATS Plus for SDG 6 in Pakistan” is working across communities, schools, and healthcare facilities in rural Taluka Badin to improve access to clean water, decent toilets, and good hygiene. The project supports communities to achieve Open Defecation Free status by mobilising households to build their own toilets and by developing safely managed sewage systems.
A core focus is empowering women, supporting them to lead WASH committees and establish small WASH-related enterprises that create locally appropriate, gender-responsive sanitation solutions. At the same time, the project works with local government to strengthen systems and develop climate-resilient, inclusive WASH plans.
In schools, children like Rabia, a 10-year-old WASH club champion, are becoming agents of change. Through hygiene education and peer leadership, pupils are spreading good practices beyond the classroom and into their homes and communities. Together, these efforts are helping build healthier, more resilient communities while laying the foundations for long-term progress towards Sustainable Development Goal 6.
Pushpa, Anjali, Karina, Kajal, Srijana, and Puja
Nepal
READ THEIR STORY
Lahan’s ward 24 covers 14.41 square kilometres and is home to nearly 7,300 people, many of whom face poor access to basic WASH services. These inequalities are particularly visible in schools, where inadequate water, sanitation and hygiene facilities directly affect students’ health, dignity, and ability to learn.
Before the project, schools in the area lacked reliable access to clean drinking water and safe, functional toilets. Girls were especially impacted. Without private toilets, water, or facilities to manage menstruation, many missed lessons or stayed home altogether during their periods. Hygiene awareness was limited, and poor facilities contributed to discomfort, embarrassment, and reduced concentration in class.
The project set out to improve WASH services in one community and four schools,
Existing water supply networks were renovated drinking water stations constructed to ensure clean, reliable water for all students. Toilets were renovated with separate facilities for boys and girls, and an accessible toilet was built.
Hygiene facilities included handwashing stations, sanitary pad vending machines, and a dedicated menstrual hygiene management room. Students received training through children’s clubs on water quality, hygiene, and their right to water and sanitation.
The impact has been transformative. School attendance has increased with girls no longer missing school during their period. Awareness has grown, silence around menstruation has been broken, and students have become advocates for good hygiene at school and at home. Empowered with knowledge and facilities, these young people are now acting as agents of change within their wider community.
Makael Shah
Pakistan
READ HER STORY
Badin Taluka in Pakistan with a population of nearly two million people, faces severe water and sanitation challenges. The area faces water scarcity, poor hygiene infrastructure, and widespread waterborne illness. Many households lack basic toilets, forcing women and girls to walk long distances to collect water and manage sanitation, often at significant personal risk.
These challenges are compounded by climate change. Increasingly frequent floods, droughts, cyclones, and extreme heat have intensified pressure on already fragile water systems, making reliable access to clean water even more difficult. The combined impact of water scarcity, poor hygiene, and climate shocks undermines health, dignity, and resilience, particularly for women and girls, who are disproportionately affected by the lack of safe sanitation facilities.
Together with communities, WaterAid is working in schools and healthcare facilities in rural Taluka Badin to improve access to clean water, decent toilets, and good hygiene. The project takes a holistic approach, addressing both infrastructure and behaviour change in one of the most climate‑vulnerable regions of Pakistan.
Key interventions include supporting communities to achieve Open Defecation Free status by mobilising households to build their own toilets and by developing safely managed sewage systems. Women are central to this approach. Through leadership roles in WASH committees and the creation of small WASH‑related enterprises, women are empowered to design and deliver sanitation solutions that respond to the needs of their communities.
The project also works closely with local government, strengthening systems and supporting the development of climate‑resilient, gender‑responsive WASH plans. Leaders like Makael Shah, a lecturer and member of the Women’s Lead Oversight Committee, play a critical role in driving change. Through advocacy, training, and community engagement, she and her peers are influencing both policy and practice, demonstrating how women’s leadership can catalyse lasting improvements in water, sanitation, and hygiene.
JUST THE BEGINNING
Across communities, schools, and health centres, these stories show how access to clean water and safe sanitation changes what’s possible for women and girls. It restores dignity during childbirth, keeps girls learning, supports women to lead, and gives families the foundation they need to thrive.
Because water isn’t just a simple commodity. It provides opportunity to women and girls across the world and when women have it, entire communities move forward.