REACH is a global research programme led by the University of Oxford and funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) to improve water security for the poor by delivering world-class science that transforms policy and practice.

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Living in poverty often means a struggle for water security. Rapid urban growth, unregulated pollution from industry, extreme floods and droughts, lack of reliable and safe drinking water, and increasing damage to water ecosystems threaten economies and undermine the lives of the poor.

Improving water security is an important pathway to sustainable growth and poverty reduction. However, better evidence is needed to guide institutional and infrastructure investments which unlock growth opportunities and help people move out of poverty.

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The REACH programme aims to improve water security for over five million poor people by:

• generating new evidence on water security through an innovative, interdisciplinary, risk-based approach

• establishing science, practitioner and enterprise partnerships to ground research in approaches that will benefit the poor

• building capacity and networks for the next generation of water managers and scientists in Africa and South Asia.