March 22, 2022

PepsiCo, BRAC ensure access to clean water for underserved people

PepsiCo’s philanthropic arm, the PepsiCo Foundation, and BRAC have announced the culmination of their project to provide clean water access to underserved communities in Bangladesh on World Water Day.

Rohingya children drinking water.

As part of the initiative, local water entrepreneurs created water treatment plants providing communities with access to safe drinking water at an affordable price in the disaster-prone areas of Cox’s Bazar. The project has now successfully reached more than 13,000 community members and 1,200 underserved households with access to sustainable, affordable clean water.

BRAC’s Senior Director for Communicable Disease, Humanitarian Crisis Management Program, Integrated Development Program, and WASH in Bangladesh, Md. Akramul Islam, said, “Clean water is vital to health and well-being. We are thrilled with the results of our partnership with the PepsiCo Foundation.”

“As part of our company’s winning with pep+ vision, PepsiCo, through its Foundation, has been actively working on sustainable and scalable solutions for communities across the world to provide access to clean and safe water,” said Debasish Deb, Country Manager, PepsiCo, Bangladesh.

The project was undertaken in Moheshkhali and Kutubdia, sub-districts of Bangladesh where many water sources have levels of arsenic and iron and communities are dependent on shallow wells and ponds, which provide an inadequate supply of safe water. Women and girls especially must travel long distances to collect water, which undermines their economic productivity and ability to stay in school.

The PepsiCo Foundation has helped more than 68 million people gain access to safe water globally since 2006 and aims to reach 100 million people by 2030. Increasing access to safe water is part of PepsiCo’s pep+ agenda to deliver better outcomes for people and the planet, whilst enabling it to be a faster-growing and more resilient company.

 

Notes to the editor

About BRAC

BRAC is a global leader in developing and implementing cost-effective, evidence-based programs to empower the most marginalized people in extremely poor, conflict-prone, and post-disaster settings. Founded in Bangladesh in 1972, BRAC now touches the lives of more than 100 million people across 11 countries in Asia and Africa. BRAC takes a holistic approach to alleviating poverty, running programs in education, health care, financial inclusion, youth empowerment, agriculture, and more. In 2021, it was ranked the top NGO in the world by NGO Advisor for the sixth consecutive time.

About BRAC USA

Based in New York, BRAC USA is the North American affiliate of BRAC. BRAC USA provides comprehensive support to BRAC around the world by raising awareness about its work to empower people living in poverty and mobilizing resources to support its programs. BRAC USA also works closely with its international counterparts to design and implement cost-effective and evidence-based poverty innovations worldwide. BRAC USA is an independent 501(c)(3) organization.

 

Media contact

BRAC USA

Sarah Allen, Communications Manager
[email protected]