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How Water Plays a Role in Health and Food Security

on  March 22, 2022

Today is World Water Day, an annual United Nations holiday that highlights the importance of water and raises awareness about the global water crisis. This year’s theme is Groundwater, which makes up most of the liquid freshwater in the world. Water is crucial for health, and higher demands for water because of rising populations, urbanization and economic growth mean that sustainable use of this precious resource in nutrition security is a top priority.Groundwater from boreholes and wells is used to supply water to many communities Rise Against Hunger supports. It is common for participants in our programs to use groundwater for household consumption as well as watering their gardens. Due to worsening climate change and excess extraction, groundwater is sometimes less available for communities around the world. When families are unable to utilize groundwater through boreholes, they often resort to consuming water from nearby lakes, streams and rivers. This practice contributes to high child mortality. One report found that “95% of diarrheal deaths in children under 5 years of age could be prevented” with the implementation of proper water-related interventions. Additionally, poor water and sanitation systems disproportionately affect women, making them more prone to waterborne illness contributing to anemia and worsened nutrition status.A less known and more recent discovery is the impact of untreated water on the gut microbiome. The gut microbiome plays a crucial role in the body’s digestion and immune system. Drinking unclean water can cause imbalance in the gut microbiome, leading to lowered immune function and reduced intestinal barriers to pathogens. With a lowered immune response, fighting off something like the common cold becomes more dangerous. Consecutive infections in childhood can have serious long-term effects, including faltered growth and cognitive deficits.

A community garden group from the Elevating Women and Youth Farmers project in Mali celebrates construction of a groundwater well to water their garden.
Rise Against Hunger utilizes conservation agriculture techniques, such as mulching and direct irrigation, to ensure water is used only when needed. We also utilize and encourage the use of borehole water as a hygienic alternative to river water. The photo above displays a well that was installed near the garden as part of the Elevating Women and Youth Farmers project, our Empowering Communities project implemented with partner AMEDD. Additionally, nutrition training always demonstrates the importance of hygienic handling of food before consumption.Water is a precious resource crucial for nutritional health and, therefore, crucial for Rise Against Hunger’s work to address global food insecurity. Today, in honor of World Water Day, we encourage you to calculate your Water Footprint and then consider ways to lower your footprint.Resources:

About the Author

Chelsie Azevedo, MPH, RD is the Nutrition Technical Advisor for Rise Against Hunger. She advances the nutrition vision of the organization and advises on programs related to nutrition security.

More Posts by Chelsie Azevedo

Strength, Stability And Hope

The gift that filled Nelly’s table.

“We were yielding very little, and the crops could not sustain us the whole year,” Nelly remembers. As a mother of seven and a farmer with two decades of experience, the stress of inconsistent yields was all-consuming. A poor harvest not only strained her family financially, but also limited their own meals to just two a day. Their story reflects that of many in their fishing and farming village near a lake in the Karonga district of northern Malawi. Here, heavy rainfall makes conventional farming methods nearly impossible. The entire village is, quite literally, saturated in food insecurity — a reality that leaves families struggling to survive season after season without a dependable source of nourishment.

In 2019, Nelly began participating in Harvesting Prosperity and Resilience, a sustainable agriculture project implemented by Rise Against Hunger in partnership with the Foundation for Community Support Services (FOCUS). The project works with 3,100 smallholder farmers in Malawi’s Karonga and Mzimba districts to strengthen food and nutrition security by improving production methods, nutrition practices and household income.

Just one year later, Nelly was ready to expand the variety of crops on her farm. What land once only produced maize began to flourish with sesame, cowpeas, rice and groundnuts during the rainy season (summer), as well as maize and vegetables during the dry season (winter). Through climate-smart agriculture training, she learned new techniques like manure making, pit planting and mulching, crop rotation and intercropping. Equipped with these tools, Nelly’s farm began to thrive.

After the 2023–2024 growing season, she sold enough produce to purchase an ox cart. Her harvests in 2024-2025 season yielded over 500 pounds of crops, including 22 bags of groundnuts, seven bags of maize, 12 tins of sesame and three bags of rice. With this surplus, she was able to invest in a motorbike, which she now uses to transport African doughnuts (mandasi) that she cooks and sells — creating yet another source of income for her family.

The transformation reaches far beyond her finances. Nelly now has the stability to provide for her husband and children. “I am able to eat different food types, pay school fees for my children and fulfill the visions that I have made with my family,” she beams. “I am now sleeping peacefully without any fears of food or paying school fees for the children.”

Her leadership has also grown. Today, Nelly serves as a leader in the Harvesting Prosperity and Resilience project, teaching other farmers in her district to adopt climate-resilient, labor-saving practices. By sharing her knowledge, she is multiplying her impact — empowering her neighbors to experience the same transformation she has achieved.

Across Nelly’s community, food and economic security are on the rise. Lombani, a government extension officer for the region, explains, “I can see the community is being transformed in the sense that in the area, there is food, income and nutrition security. Development is also happening at the household level.”

Nelly reflects on what it means to invest in holistic programs that address the root causes of hunger: “We are now healthy people. Children are going to school after eating their breakfast, having high yields and different types of crops due to conservation agriculture practices. With the support from the project, we have food, and we can access other food items from the market after selling our produce.”

This is the gift that fills: a future full of stability, strength and hope. It fills tables with food, families with security and communities with the resources to thrive. It’s an investment in futures rooted in resilience and hope.