Intelligence Squared Everything Starts With Water
7 snips
Dec 17, 2025 
In this engaging discussion, Amaka Godfrey, Executive Director of International Programmes at WaterAid, shares her 25 years of experience transforming lives through access to clean water. She recounts how clean water keeps children in school and improves maternal healthcare. Amaka highlights water's critical role in empowering women and boosting local economies. The conversation addresses misconceptions surrounding water investment and the need for global cooperation to tackle water security. Hopeful for the future, Amaka envisions a world where everyone has access to safe water.
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Guinea Worm Moment Changed A Career
- Amaka Godfrey recounts seeing guinea worm infections as a student which redirected her career toward water solutions.
- That visceral encounter showed her that clean water, not just medicine, prevents devastating diseases.
From Bucket Births To Modern Delivery Rooms
- Amaka describes a rural Nigerian clinic where births used a brown bucket of water and how clean taps transformed care.
- After WaterAid installed running water the same facility had showers, handwashing and encouraged longer postnatal stays.
Water Is Foundational Yet Overlooked
- Decision-makers often prioritise visible investments like transport and energy over water, despite water underpinning those sectors.
- Without safe water for people, ambitions in agriculture, energy and health cannot succeed at scale.