The Cigna Foundation today announced a $100,000 World of Difference
grant to Water For People, a global organization helping to improve
health for 1.8 billion people who lack access to safe water, and 2.8
billion people – or 35 percent of the world's population – without
access to sanitation. Water For People, headquartered in Denver,
supports the development of locally sustainable drinking water
resources, sanitation facilities, and hygiene education programs in
Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Peru, Bolivia, Rwanda, Uganda, Malawi
and India.
The Cigna Foundation grant will help Water For People reach four million
people in nine countries by 2018. Additionally, Cigna's health and
finance experts will help Water for People measure the health impacts of
its programs and address financial challenges related to water system
replacement and repair.
“With Water For People, the Cigna Foundation is looking to help those
around the globe who lack the basic essentials of safe water and
sanitation, which are fundamental to good health,” said David Figliuzzi,
executive director of the Cigna Foundation. “We believe it’s inexcusable
that half of the world’s hospital beds are filled with people suffering
from waterborne disease, and 3.4 million people a year are dying from
water-related disease. We share Water For People’s vision that one day,
every family, every school and every clinic will have access to safe
water and sanitation.”
Water For People’s approach, as seen in this video, http://vimeo.com/channels/691451/24844769
ensures water system sustainability by requiring a commitment from each
beneficiary community. Water For People believes the community must be
actively involved in the planning, implementation and maintenance of its
water system. Water For People does not send engineers and volunteer
laborers into a community to build systems. Instead, local community
members are trained to build and maintain systems, and collect tariffs
for on-going operations. Water For People uses only locally available
materials should repairs be needed, ensuring that community members have
the ability to maintain their own water and sanitation systems.
“Cigna's support will enable our projects to impact entire districts.
Safe drinking water and adequate sanitation can change the local economy
as people are able to work and build businesses. Children are less
likely to be ill and can attend school. Women are free from tedious
water collection and can take care of their families and generate
income. Local entrepreneurs are able to create businesses and services
related to this new community asset,” explained Kristin Sturges Hood,
assistant director, marketing and partnerships, Water For People.
With World Water Day recognized in March, Cigna urges everyone to think
about the world’s water supply. For its part, Cigna recently set
environmental reduction goals that include a three percent water
reduction target by 2017. More information on Cigna’s water conservation
efforts can be found here
in the company’s annual corporate responsibility report.
About the Cigna Foundation
The Cigna Foundation, founded in 1962, is a private foundation funded by
contributions from Cigna Corporation (NYSE: CI) and its subsidiaries.
The Cigna Foundation supports organizations sharing its commitment to
enhancing the health of individuals and families, and the well-being of
their communities, with a special focus on those communities where Cigna
employees live and work. The Cigna Foundation World of Difference grants
provide support for improving children’s wellness, senior care, women’s
health and health equity – the four social priorities for Cigna's
corporate responsibility platform known as Cigna Connects.
About Cigna
Cigna Corporation (NYSE: CI) is a global health service company
dedicated to helping people improve their health, well-being and sense
of security. All products and services are provided exclusively by or
through operating subsidiaries of Cigna Corporation, including
Connecticut General Life Insurance Company, Cigna Health and Life
Insurance Company, Life Insurance Company of North America and Cigna
Life Insurance Company of New York. Such products and services include
an integrated suite of health services, such as medical, dental,
behavioral health, pharmacy, vision, supplemental benefits, and other
related products including group life, accident and disability
insurance. Cigna maintains sales capability in 30 countries and
jurisdictions, and has more than 85 million customer relationships
throughout the world. To learn more about Cigna®, including links to
follow us on Facebook or Twitter, visit www.cigna.com.
About Water For People
Water For People brings together local entrepreneurs, civil society,
governments, and communities to establish creative, collaborative
solutions that allow people to build and maintain their own reliable
safe water systems. Empowering everyone transforms people’s lives by
improving health and economic productivity to end the cycle of poverty
The road to permanent water coverage for Everyone Forever is
challenging, but the outcomes are easy to root for — more children are
in school, more individuals are employed, more families are healthy and
thriving, and more communities are collaborating and growing. From
there, the impact continues to ripple out on a national and global
scale. If we invest more and work hard to create sustainable and
replicable water and sanitation infrastructure, we can create a world
where people can focus on their futures…their forever.
Copyright Business Wire 2015