CSR - Guinness Fund to filter cleaner water in Nigeria and Ghana
Last updated 9/30/2009 8:38:03 AM
CSR - Guinness Fund to filter cleaner water in Nigeria and Ghana
Communities in West Africa will gain access to clean water with an affordable water filter supported by drinks company Diageo's Arthur Guinness Fund, created to celebrate the beer's 250th anniversary.
The funding will help towards a new enterprise in Nigeria and Ghana to build a sustainable market for the water filter, CrystalPur TM, which eliminates 99.99 per cent of all waterborne bacteria and parasites with no chemicals or mechanical parts.
Nick Blazquez, president, Africa region, Diageo plc, said, "We know that improving access to clean and safe water contributes to improved health and education levels and reduces poverty.
"This project in West Africa with the Arthur Guinness Fund is being developed to compliment our existing Water of Life programme which has already helped ... many communities and [millions] people across Africa".
The initiative will benefit over 250,000 people in areas where nearby surface water is predominately used and water is boiled for drinking purposes.
Local entrepreneurs will be supported through programme partners Enterpriseworks / VITA (EWV), an international not-for-profit organization, in the distribution and retail sales of the water filters, as well as develop local campaigns to educate on the benefits of clean water and hygiene.
EWV have designed, locally manufactured, and marketed such products as irrigation pumps, improved cook-stoves and water filters in more than 60 African and Asian countries, in partnership with hundreds of local firms who benefit from new markets and increased earnings.
Diageo's Water of Life 1 Million Challenge supports community-based projects to improve access to drinking water, as well as aid environmental conservation and deliver capacity-building training with local partners.
In the last three years, since Water of Life started, Diageo's programmes across Africa have provided over 3.2 million people access to clean water. The 1 Million Challenge aims to give 1 million more people access to clean water each year.
Diageo's other leading brands include Walker, Smirnoff, Baileys, Cuervo
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