The Coca-Cola Company and WaterHealth
International (WHI) today announced their plan to bring safe
drinking water to 1 million school children through their Child With
Water (CWW) program. Together, the partners aim to deliver 500 million
liters of safe drinking water a year to 1 million school children in
2,000 schools in developing countries by the end of 2015. Safe drinking
water will be delivered to school children through water purification
systems installed, operated and maintained by WaterHealth International
and the first installations will begin in May 2014.
Traditional WaterHealth Center installed and operated by WaterHealth International. (Photo: Business Wire)
The Coca-Cola Company also announced it has taken a minority equity
ownership in WaterHealth International. WHI is a world leader in
decentralized water purification, currently operating more than 500
water purification plants in five countries providing sustainable safe
drinking water access to about 5 million people. The investment by
Coca-Cola will further support the scale up of WaterHealth’s sustainable
model to provide safe water to underserved communities and accelerate
the placement of new WaterHealth Centers and CWW programs globally.
“Safe water is critical for all. It’s vital to the health of people and
communities, it’s essential to economic prosperity, and it’s the
lifeblood of our business,” said Bea Perez, Chief Sustainability
Officer, The Coca-Cola Company. “Through the Child With Water program,
we can help keep children hydrated, active and healthy so they can
thrive in school and in their communities. We believe this program has
the potential to help transform communities through safe water
consumption, safe water handling and safe hygiene practices. WaterHealth
International is an ideal partner to implement the program because of
their proven model and capability of providing safe water to
communities. The results will have a lasting impact on the communities
we serve.”
“We are very pleased to join Coca-Cola in this initiative. This is
further validation that the WaterHealth approach is the world’s leading
model for sustainably providing safe drinking water,” said Sanjay
Bhatnagar, President & CEO, WaterHealth International. “The Child With
Water program has a critical focus on water quality, reliable operations
and hygiene education. WHI is in a unique position to implement the
program due to the size and breadth of our existing footprint.
Partnering with a visionary company like Coca-Cola enables us to have a
greater impact and further our mission to provide clean water to the
millions who have spent a lifetime waiting for it.”
Coca-Cola is actively partnering with WHI for safe water access projects
in West Africa through its Replenish
Africa Initiative (RAIN). CWW supports Coca-Cola’s commitment to
replenish the water used in its beverages by 2020, and its continued
commitment to fostering sustainable communities globally.
About WaterHealth International (WHI)
WaterHealth’s vision is to play a central role in bringing safe, quality
water to the two billion unserved and underserved people around the
world who do not have reliable access to it. WaterHealth Centers allow
underserved communities rapid access to safe water at an affordable
price, helping solve the global challenge of waterborne diseases. The
Company has a sustainable business model under which it constructs a
WaterHealth Center and provides long-term operations, maintenance and
water quality monitoring services to communities for a low, initial
one‐time cost. The Company currently operates over 500 such WaterHealth
Centers in developing countries and provides drinking water access to 5
million people, aiming to reach 100 million by 2020. For more
information visit our website http://www.waterhealth.com.
About The Coca-Cola Company
The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is the world's largest beverage
company, refreshing consumers with more than 500 sparkling and still
brands. Led by Coca-Cola, one of the world's most valuable and
recognizable brands, our Company's portfolio features 17 billion-dollar
brands including Diet Coke, Fanta, Sprite, Coca-Cola Zero, vitaminwater,
Powerade, Minute Maid, Simply, Georgia and Del Valle. Globally, we are
the No. 1 provider of sparkling beverages, ready-to-drink coffees, and
juices and juice drinks. Through the world's largest beverage
distribution system, consumers in more than 200 countries enjoy our
beverages at a rate of 1.9 billion servings a day. With an enduring
commitment to building sustainable communities, our Company is focused
on initiatives that reduce our environmental footprint, support active,
healthy living, create a safe, inclusive work environment for our
associates, and enhance the economic development of the communities
where we operate. Together with our bottling partners, we rank among the
world's top 10 private employers with more than 700,000 system
associates. For more information, visit Coca-Cola Journey at www.coca-colacompany.com,
follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/CocaColaCo,
visit our blog, Coca-Cola Unbottled, at www.coca-colablog.com
or find us on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/the-coca-cola-company.
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