P&G, U.S. State Department, and USAID Join Forces to Help Pakistan Flood Victims

CINCINNATI, Sept. 20, 2010 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) through its not-for-profit Children's Safe Drinking Water Program will partner with the U.S. State Department's Pakistan Relief Fund and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to provide 28 million PUR water treatment packets to help flood victims in Pakistan.

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The Pakistan floods have left millions with unsafe drinking water and waterborne disease outbreaks are causing large numbers of people to be sick.  In response to this humanitarian crisis, the P&G Children's Safe Drinking Water Program has developed a partnership with the State Department's Pakistan Relief Fund, which is a clearinghouse for contributions from American citizens and others around the world, and USAID in a $2 million effort to provide clean drinking water to 1.5 million people in Pakistan by providing 280 million liters of clean drinking water.  

"P&G's commitment to help in times of natural disasters is how we fulfill P&G's Purpose to touch and improve lives, " said Bob McDonald, P&G Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer.  "P&G is eager to bring clean drinking water to the people of Pakistan by partnering with USAID and the U.S. State Department's Pakistan Relief Fund so that our many partners in Pakistan can provide more than a quarter of a billion liters of clean drinking water."

"The floods that have devastated Pakistan have taken weeks and have caused terrible damage, but the recovery will take much longer than that," said U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.  "As the waters recede, the people of Pakistan must know that they will not be alone.  They can count on the U.S. and the international community to stand with them."

The P&G Children's Safe Drinking Water Program (www.csdw.org) utilizes PUR packets, a water purifying technology developed by P&G and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to help reduce sickness and death resulting from drinking contaminated water.  One small PUR packet quickly turns 10 liters of dirty, potentially deadly water into clean, drinkable water.  

P&G is well positioned to respond to this crisis with the PUR packets because they are manufactured in Pakistan.  USAID will provide $1 million, the U.S. State Department's Pakistan Relief Fund, through the generous contributions of private citizens, will provide $0.5 million and P&G will provide more than $0.5 million to provide PUR packets along with the buckets and filter cloths needed to treat water with PUR.   PSI/Greenstar will work with Abt Associates and a large number of local humanitarian groups to provide PUR packets as well as provide the training to ensure proper use.

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SOURCE Procter & Gamble