When Clean Water Isn't Enough

In the past decade, a nonprofit called SAHA has worked tirelessly to bring safe drinking water to hundreds of villages of Northern Ghana. Yet, a sobering reality persisted – people weren't drinking the water. Young children and the elderly were left particularly vulnerable to illness and death.

In 2023 with support from donors, Appleseed partnered with SAHA. We found that saying “drink water for your health” didn't resonate with farmers. It led farmers to view clean water as a remedy, which they'd drink sparingly only after falling sick. Their real challenges were exhaustion from daily labor and having no time for anything but work.

Responding to those insights, SAHA and Appleseed first dropped the health-centric messaging. Then we focused on water delivery to ease the tremendous burden, for women and girls, of fetching water on foot. Simultaneously, we expanded into marginalized pastoral communities with high demand for clean water. The result? A remarkable 20X increase in water sales and consumption in some areas this year alone.

SAHA's CEO and I are now about to present our case study with an intimate group of the world's leading philanthropic foundations who fund WASH (water, sanitation, and hygiene) initiatives. We will urge a sector-wide shift from "providing access" to "designing for consumption" of clean water. In their heart-of-hearts, everyone working in this sector knows this shift is needed for true impact. But without compelling case studies and a reliable approach, they’ve have played it safe, being content with “access.” Well now our results and approach will be impossible to ignore. And when those funders inevitably ask the orgs they fund to also aim higher at “consumption,” those organizations will find ways to comply.

Reflecting on my personal journey, I remember learning it the hard way, that "bringing clean water to people doesn't mean they'll drink it." It was 2010 and I was working in a few villages of Ecuador and China as a volunteer engineer (which some of our earliest donors might remember). This worrisome realization sparked my venture into behavioral change, which led to the founding of Appleseed, and eventually the collaboration with SAHA last year. We've now impacted hundreds of villages in Ghana, and we’ll be impacting hundreds of thousands more after showcasing this example. It's a full-circle moment, showing the transformative power of behavioral research, strategic thinking, and the unwavering support of Appleseed’s donors. And I’m humbled to be part of it all.

Philip Kao
December 22, 2023

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