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Q&A: Matt Damon on bringing water to the masses

Kim Hjelmgaard
USA TODAY
Gary White, left, and Matt Damon of Water.org in Bangalore, India, in 2013.

The World Economic Forum has identified the water crisis — lack of access to and global shortage of — as the most pressing risk the planet faces over the next 10 years in terms of societal impact. During last year's meeting of the economic forum in Davos, Switzerland, USA TODAY spoke with actor Matt Damon and Gary White, co-founders of Water.org, about the initiative they set up so nearly 1 billion people around the world who don't have regular access to water someday will. Now, a year later, we catch up with them to see what has changed. Followingis an edited version of an e-mail exchange with White and Damon.

What's been achieved since last year's meeting in Davos?

Gary White: Water.org surpassed its goal of reaching 2 million people with safe water and/or sanitation. For hundreds of thousands of families this means a transformative difference in their lives. Young girls are going to school, women are able to become economically productive, more children are living past their fifth birthday, and families are healthier and living with greater dignity.

Matt Damon : We've seen terrific momentum in terms of bold, new commitments to the cause this last year. The Clinton Global Initiative announced that pursuing universal access to safe water would be a top priority for the foundation in 2015. The WEF's Global Agenda Council on Water announced it would focus on engaging global business leaders to ensure equitable water access in emerging markets. And just before the close of 2014, the U.S. Congress passed into law the Senator Paul Simon Water for the World Act reflecting the government's commitment to ending the crisis for the world's poor.

What will you focus on in 2015?

White : In our view, 2015 is the most important year for global decision-making since the start of the new millennium. In September, the United Nations will unveil the post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) — a global agreement to pursue new goals that will enable the world to eradicate extreme poverty, tackle inequality and ensure a more sustainable planet. These goals can't be achieved if we don't solve the global water and sanitation crisis and, therefore, we are encouraged to see a dedicated goal to universal access to safe water and ending open defecation by 2030.

Damon : We will continue to work with Water.org's partners to advance our mission on the ground, support grass-roots efforts to raise awareness and activism for the cause, and will match that effort on a grass-tops level — helping to shape supporting policies and political action. One of the things I'm most excited about this year is the Action/2015 campaign that launched this month. Action/2015 is a global campaign that will secure ambitious commitments from our world leaders.

What needs to be done to make real progress on this issue?

White: Nine-hundred world leaders in politics, business and civic life believe inadequate water supplies and punishing cycles of flood, drought and water pollution represent a risk greater than nuclear weapons or global pandemics, according to the economic forum's Global Risks 2015 report. From the bottom up and top down, we need to continue pushing the positive momentum forward to achieve our long-term vision.

Damon: We live in a complex and interconnected world. In order to solve some of the biggest challenges we face, such as ending extreme poverty, we know we must address and finally end the global water crisis for billions around the world.

Key facts about the water crisis: (Source: Water.org)

  • Every minute a child dies of a water-related disease

  • 443 million school days are lost each year due to water-related illness

  • The lost productivity of people collecting water is greater than the combined number of hours worked in a week by employees at Walmart, United Parcel Service, McDonald's, IBM, Target and Kroger

  • An estimated 152 million hours each day are spent by women and girls for the most basic of human needs — collecting water for domestic use​

  • ​More people have a mobile phone than a toilet

  • People living in slums often pay five to 10 times more per liter of water than wealthy people living in the same city

USA TODAY interviews Gary White and Matt Damon

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