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Xylem Watermark helps the Safe Water Network deliver free water to Ghanaians during the COVID-19 pandemic Xylem Africa, a subsidiary of Xylem LLC, and Xylem Watermark, Xylem's corporate social responsibility program, are proud to support the ongoing work of the Safe Water Network in Ghana as it delivers potable water to thousands of people, despite the pandemic's many challenges.

Safe Water Network’s operations in Ghana span across 100 sites and 140 communities, offering clean and healthy water to more than 440,000 people. Nearly half of the world's population still don't have regular access to clean potable water, and diseases resulting from unsafe water such as diarrhoea kill over half a million children under five annually1. Delivering clean water is not just a service but a human duty.

This mission became tougher to realise when the COVID-19 pandemic arrived, notably when it prompted the Ghanaian Government to mandate that water be free for all of its citizens for a specified period. Though Safe Water Network prices its water at some of the lowest market rates (2 US cents per 20 litres), the mandate meant it could not recoup the costs needed to cover operating expenses.

Funding water access for all Needing help, the Safe Water Network turned to its industry partners, including Xylem, which agreed to help fund the program during the pandemic period.

"The Ghanaian Government's mandate makes sense, but it also cast doubt on how we'd fund our operations," says Charles Nimako, Country Director for Safe Water Network Ghana. "We faced many new cost pressures, such as safety equipment for our staff and implementing health protocols at Safe Water Stations. Then there was the broader risk that we'd have to rein in our other projects, such as small water enterprise sector-building, and reallocate resources.

The knock-on effect on our work in Ghana would have been significant and set us back. Xylem's funding support changes all of that and even allowed us to do more."

As news of the pandemic spread, concern and fear started to take root. Communities were rightly concerned that they couldn't access water. It prompted Ghana to announce the free water mandate, ensuring nobody would go without this life-saving resource.

Fighting COVID through knowledge Safe Water Network could provide that access. But its work goes further: to help curb the pandemic, it

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offers handwashing stations and provides educational information about COVID-19 and proper prevention, delivered through talks, posters and such from the organization and its partners, including local vendors and operators. These efforts significantly reduced anxiety about COVID-19 and helped promote responsible habits that have kept people and their communities safe.

"There was a lot of concern and fear in the beginning about the pandemic. By having handwashing sites and information on site, we could really help soothe those fears," says Nimako.

Xylem Watermark's funding support, which initiated in the second half of 2020, helped Safe Water Network manage the pandemic's initial shock and solve its challenges over time.

"We believe that safe and potable water is the right of every human being, but that it takes effort, innovation and collaboration to make that right a reality," says Chetan Mistry, Strategy and Marketing Manager for Xylem Africa.

"You can see that effort in what Safe Water Network does. So, when they asked for support, Xylem Watermark didn't hesitate. This is an investment in the future and in a program that is making a real difference."

Securing water beyond the pandemic As mentioned above, this story is about more than access to water during the pandemic. Safe Water Network wants to ensure potable water for all people. It does so by supporting the development of the small water enterprise (SWE) market. SWEs, like Safe Water Network’s Safe Water Stations in Ghana and India, are typically smaller and decentralised operations that work alongside public water systems, using modern technologies and methods to create water supply chains that are sustainable, safe and cost-effective. Such operations are vital for establishing permanent, reliable water access to communities. The development of SWEs mustn't take a back seat, even

during a pandemic, as the setbacks will mean real, longterm consequences on creating water access for everyone.

The COVID-19 pandemic's disruption will continue to reverberate for years to come. But Safe Water Network is already working with governments such as Ghana's to develop responses and strategies to water-related issues that arose during and existed before the pandemic.

Activities include: ● Providing financial frameworks to the government to help develop a model for free water mandate reimbursements ● Convening meetings with SWE implementers and the Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA) to identify appropriate and feasible COVID-19 response measures ● Working with implementers to understand the immediate and long-term financial and operational impacts of COVID-19 on SWE sustainability ● Advocating for CWSA to establish an SWE coordination mechanism within the agency to facilitate engagement Through providing funding support, Xylem Watermark is helping make clean and safe water available throughout Ghana. We will continue to work with Safe Water Network here and in other countries. Even as a pandemic ravages the world, brave and visionary people aren't putting down their tools and waving their hands in despair. They knuckled down and faced the obstacles. Xylem Watermark is proud to support these heroes from Safe Water Network.

Xylem Africa, +27 (0) 11 966 9311, Chetan.mistry@Xyleminc.com, www.xylem.com