Transcript Welcome to “What’s Up With Water,” your need-to-know news of the world’s water from Circle of Blue. I’m Eileen Wray-McCann. ——— Water, sanitation and hygiene – known collectively as WASH, are in the news globally. A leaked memo showed that the United Kingdom plans to cut funding for WASH projects in developing nations by more than 80 percent. The Guardian reports that this has sparked outrage among WASH experts, who point to sanitation and handwashing as key defenses against the coronavirus pandemic. Worldwide, more than 4 billion people lack safe sanitation and 1 in 3 people do not have access to safe drinking water. Still, over the last 50 years more than $400 billion has been poured into projects that are improving WASH around the world. After interviewing more than 40 thought leaders and frontline professionals on five continents, Circle of Blue found that the WASH world is at a rare inflection point. In recent years the fog has cleared and the more certain path appears to actually lead to universal access to clean water, safe sanitation and hygiene. Circle of Blue and the Wilson Center will host a special online event May 11, titled “WASH Within Reach” – that public session, along with more on this story, is at circleofblue.org.