World Vision Highlighted at Clinton Global Initiative for Providing Clean Drinking Water in West Africa with P&G Water Purification Packets

SEATTLE, Sept. 26, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- At the 2012 Clinton Global Initiative, President Clinton highlighted a new partnership between World Vision and the Procter & Gamble (P&G) Children's Safe Drinking Water (CSDW) Program to provide clean drinking water to 2.3 million people impacted by the drought and famine in West Africa. 

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120926/DC82010)

World Vision and other aid organizations are working on the ground to provide food, but without clean water, children are at high risk of dying from dehydration.  One million children are at risk and need immediate emergency response.  World Vision will respond using the P&G water purification packets in Chad, Mali, Ghana, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, and Sierra Leone.  The P&G packets utilize a powder technology developed by P&G that removes contaminants from water while killing viruses and bacteria.  The powder is manufactured in small packets that purify 10 liters of contaminated water, creating enough clean water for one family for an entire day.

President Clinton highlighted the work in describing P&G's efforts to scale up the CSDW program to save one life every hour in the developing world by providing 2 billion liters of clean drinking water every year.  World Vision and other partners will provide nearly 35 million P&G water purification packets in order to provide 350 million liters of clean drinking water making this the largest single response to date for the P&G CSDW Program that began in 2004 responding to the South East Asia tsunami and has now provided a total of 5 billion liters of clean drinking water. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_77aI01X2U 

"No other humanitarian intervention has a more dramatic effect on children and families than access to clean water and sanitation," said Kevin Jenkins, President and Chief Executive Officer of World Vision International. "We are deeply grateful for P&G's response to the current situation in West Africa where millions are impacted by famine, drought and cholera. P&G continues to support the life-saving work we do."

"I've seen first-hand the impact of drought and famine on children and it breaks your heart," said Dr Greg Allgood, director of the P&G Children's Safe Drinking Water Program. "P&G is extremely grateful that World Vision is on-the-ground right now providing millions of the P&G water purification packets in order to save the lives of children in the Sahel."

World Vision has partnered with P&G around the world providing nearly 1 billion liters (800 million) of clean drinking water.  The humanitarian organization responds to urgent clean water needs with P&G water purification packets and also digs wells and boreholes to sustain communities long term.

SOURCE World Vision U.S.