Lesotho is a mountainous and fairly 'water-rich country', but suffers from a lack of clean drinking water due to inadequate sanitation. In recent decades, with the construction of dams for the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP), Lesotho has become the main provider of water to parts of northern South Africa. Despite the economic and infrastructure development occasioned by the LHWP, waterborne diseases are common in the country and the infant mortality rate from them is high. In 2017, a project to improve the rural water supply in the Lesotho Lowlands was funded by the Global Environment Facility and the African Development Bank, and is ongoing.
