Children's Safe Drinking Water

P&G CSDW unveils new website and new Facebook page with “1 Like = 1 Day” of Clean Water

Today we’re relaunching the website for the P&G Children’s Safe Drinking Water Program (LINK) and launching a new CSDW Facebook page (LINK).

New CSDW Partner SOTENI and AIDS Barefoot Doctors in Kenya

Today I’m in a familiar place in Siaya District near Kisumu Kenya. Our P&G Children’s Safe Drinking Water (CSDW) Program has been working in this area since 2003 and I’ve visited our various partners in the area many times. However, today I’m with one of our newest CSDW partners, SOTENI, which happens to be led by Cincinnati-based Dr Victoria Wulsin and Randie Marsh.

Providing the 4th Billionth liter of Clean Water with CSDW in Thailand

It’s very hard for me to believe that today we’re providing the 4 billionth liter of clean drinking water through the P&G Children’s Safe Drinking Water (CSDW) Program.  It seems like only yesterday that we began this journey.  But in reality, it started 10 years ago.  For three years, P&G provide the water purification packets as a for-profit effort and we provided a total of 30 million liters of clean water.  In 2004, in order to expand the effort, we created the not-for-profit P&G CSDW Program as a signature program of P&G’s pro-social investments and we’ve been growing ever since by partnering with on-the-ground humanitarian groups that can reach people who are most vulnerable and have a critical need for safe water.

Reaching Deep into Filipino Communities with World Vision: An Amazing Experience

I travel to many remote places in helping provide clean water through the P&G Children’s Safe Drinking Water Program. Today is one of the most remote visits that I’ve ever made. It took two days to reach the Philippines from my hometown in the US. Then it took a full day of travel from Manila to the island of Siargao in Mindinao. And, this morning, we were up at sunrise to start our travel to the island of Maribojoc. Today, I’m traveling with Keith Kall of World Vision US and Billie Abata, Joy Mariscal, and Joel Pielago of World Vision Philippines.

Start of a New P&G CSDW Program in the Philippines with World Vision

I’m in the Philippines to start a new program to provide clean drinking water as part of a collaboration between the P&G Children’s Safe Drinking Water (CSDW) Program and World Vision.  We’re working near the largest Filipino island of Mindanao in the region of Surigao.  Some of the areas in Mindanao are not safe for us to travel because of armed conflict.  In fact, we changed our plans in the last few days because of new hostilities.  As an alternative to our original plan, we’ve traveled to the island of Siargao as our base for the next few days.

A Bold Step Back to the Future: P&G Steps Up to Put Name on Water Purification Packets and a New Video to Celebrate

I’m thrilled to tell you that P&G has decided to put the name of the company on the water purification packets that are the basis for the P&G Children’s Safe Drinking Water (CSDW) Program.   While this change represents a big vote of confidence by P&G for the CSDW Program, the new packaging has been designed to retain a familiar look to the old packaging.   As you can see below, the “PUR Purifier of Water” packets will change to “P&G Purifier of Water” and we’ve updated and improved the look of the packaging while still keeping it familiar.

P&G CSDW Commits to Reach 2 Million People in Horn of Africa Famine and Honors USAID and Target at CGI2011

P&G is participating in our 6th Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) this week.  Each of the last five years, we’ve made big commitments to help scale-up our P&G Children’s Safe Drinking Water Program and this year is no different.   Last year P&G CEO, Bob McDonald, together with President Clinton, announced that P&G committed to, by 2020, save one life every hour in the developing world by providing 2 billion liters of clean water each year with our water purification packets.  Since last year’s commitment, we’ve provided more than 1 BILLION liters of clean drinking water through our partnerships.  This is more than double our previous best effort.  We are on track to surpass the 4 billion liter milestone in 2012.  This was achieved by helping build awareness of the global clean drinking water crisis by delivering more than 750 million media impressions, as well as by expanding our partnerships and entering 4 new countries with our CSDW program.  We are also building a new manufacturing facility in Singapore that will open next year and will be dedicated to the production of P&G’s water purification packets, allowing us to reach our bold goal.

P&G and Partners Respond to East Africa Famine

P&G and Save the Children released the below media release in response to efforts to help address the drought and starvation in East Africa, which is currently considered the most critical humanitarian crisis in the world.

P&G and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and P&G Pampers & UNICEF : Partnering to Save Lives

In these tough economic times, it helps to think beyond yourself.  While we cut-back, tighten our belts, and focus, it’s important that we also help those who need our help the most.   And, you know, this always leads to making us feel and perform better, and as organizations it helps us do better.   It’s really as simple as that. 

For P&G, we’re reaching out to help those most in need through our CSDW program.   The greatest humanitarian crisis in the world is now in East Africa where a long drought is causing starvation on a massive scale.   About 600,000 children are at risk of dying from starvation.  One of the most important treatments for starving people is to give them clean water so that they can absorb nutrients from their food.  So, we’re mounting a massive effort with our partners to respond to the East Africa famine crisis.  I’ll share more soon – but rest assured that P&G and our safe drinking water partners are going to help hundreds of thousands of people in this famine.

Another area where P&G has been helping for a number of years is in the battle against maternal and neonatal tetanus (MNT).   This is a disease that is eliminated in the developed world but still kills a child every nine minutes in the developing world.  It’s a horrible death but can be easily prevented through an MNT vaccine.  So, the P&G’s Pampers brand and UNICEF have teamed up to provide MNT vaccines through a program called 1 pack = 1 vaccine.  Since 2006, Pampers has donated funds for 300 million vaccines that are helping protect 100 million women & their babies.   Last year, I visited Uganda with a team from UNICEF and P&G as the last phases of a vast MNT vaccination program were being completed.  We’ve been waiting for the World Health Organization’s confirmation that the effort was a success and they recently announced that MNT has been eliminated in Uganda.   This is fantastic news!

One of the biggest supporters of vaccines in the world is the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.  P&G has recently started an effort to collaborate with the Gates Foundation and I’m honored to be the leader of this effort that is sponsored by P&G CEO Bob McDonald.    Bob and Melinda Gates met at the Clinton Global Initiative last year when they were on the opening plenary and Bob announced our new CSDW goal to save one life every hour in the developing world with clean water by 2020.   That led to some follow-up discussions and we’ve found that we share the belief that the powerful but limited role of philanthropy needs to be augmented through products and services that improve and save lives and reduce inequity in the world.   We’re exploring a number of areas of collaboration but a clear area of shared interest is in the work of vaccines.

The Gates Foundation leader of our collaboration is Dr Gary Darmstadt.   He suggested that he team up with my friend and colleague Dr Nada Dugas of P&G, who leads the Pampers:UNICEF effort, in order to write a blog about the recent success of the Pampers:UNICEF effort in eliminating MNT in Uganda.   I’m thrilled that the Gates Foundation is helping build awareness of this important collaboration.  And, as Gary and Nada state in their blog, there’s more to come as  “the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Procter and Gamble are teaming up to develop new partnerships with viable business models that will sustain the delivery of other life-saving interventions”.  

I’d encourage you to check out their blog.  Congratulations to P&G Pampers and UNICEF for the elimination of MNT in Uganda!

With a Little Help from My Friends: CARE, CDC, and SWAP Kenya

I’m traveling to Kisumu, Kenya today where we’ve been providing the PUR packets since 2003 prior to the launch of our P&G Children’s Safe Drinking Water (CSDW) in 2004.  At the airport in Nairobi, I’m surprised when Dr Rob Quick of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) wakes me from my blackberry induced coma.  The CDC and P&G have partnered since 1995 on safe water and hygiene with Rob being one of the constants in our collaboration.  He’s a world leader in safe water and one of the most dedicated public health experts in the world.