PepsiCo Foundation, IDB initiate an AquaFund Project in Mexico
PepsiCo Foundation’s Support for the IDB AquaFund in Mexico Will Provide Poor Communities Access to Safe Water, Sanitation
For many people living in rural areas of Mexico today, going to the faucet for safe water or accessing basic sanitation is a far-off dream.
But for some of them, it’s a dream that will become reality.
On February 5, the PepsiCo Foundation announced that their contribution to the Inter-American Development Bank’s (IDB) AquaFund will support programs to provide sustainable access to safe water and improved sanitation to more than 2,000 people in poor Mexican communities.
The $1 million USD program will be implemented by World Vision Mexico and serve as a pilot for innovative projects that can be replicated across Mexico and sustained by local communities to improve the lives of several hundred thousand additional people.
In 2011, the PepsiCo Foundation provided a $5 million grant to the IDB’s AquaFund. This grant is part of PepsiCo’s ongoing work with governmental and non-governmental organizations to provide safe water access to underserved communities and water-stressed regions around the world.
The PepsiCo Foundation was the first private sector donor to contribute to the AquaFund. The goal of the PepsiCo-IDB partnership is to provide 500,000 people in Latin America access to safe water and improved sanitation by the end of 2015.
DID YOU KNOW?
“PepsiCo has achieved its goal of partnering to provide access to water to 3 million people by the end of 2015, and has announced a new goal of providing access to 3 million more – doubling the original goal – through continued partnerships with water organizations.”
The first PepsiCo Foundation-sponsored AquaFund project was launched in Colombia in 2012 and others are planned for Peru, Guatemala and Brazil.
“For over 40 years, the PepsiCo Foundation has supported projects in order to help communities in extreme poverty,” said Sue Tsokris, vice president of Global Citizenship and Sustainability at PepsiCo. “Our partnership with the IDB seeks to replicate these efforts to benefit those most in need, in order to generate a positive impact in rural communities without water supply and sanitation.”
“Access to water is sometimes taken for granted, but access to safe water and adequate sanitation conditions in low-income communities worldwide still represents a big challenge,” said Pedro Padierna, president of PepsiCo Mexico. “By supporting and developing water accessibility projects, basic needs such as food and health will be covered, development opportunities increase, and also it is probable that welfare chances will be higher.”
Learn more about the AquaFund in Mexico.
