Coca-Cola bails out Bulawayo with US$50k
Beverages giant, Coca- Cola Company, has extended US$ 50 000 for the implementation of water and sanitation projects in Zimbabwe’s second largest city, Bulawayo.
The move seeks to enhance provision of clean and safe water to selected city suburbs to mitigate rising Covid-19 cases.
Bulawayo has perennial water shortages, which in the past have triggered the outbreak of diarrhoea due to the use of contaminated water.
The Coca- Cola Company, said through its philanthropic arm, the Coca-Cola Foundation, on Wednesday awarded US$ 50 000 to DanChurchAid Zimbabwe to implement the project in Bulawayo’s urban poor in selected high-density suburbs to mitigate rising Covid-19 cases.
“The funding will be used to conduct site surveys, drill six boreholes and equip the solar driven water kiosks that will provide water to families in Bulawayo,” said the company’s country director Milidzani Ncube, during the cheque handover ceremony at DanChurchAid offices in Harare.
“The Coca-Cola Foundation, The Coca-Cola Company and its bottling partners Schweppes and Delta are proud to be responding to this water crisis that will enable more than 25 000 people to access much needed safe and clean water daily.
“Lack of access to safe water and sanitation services has direct health implications,” he said.
Globally, Ncube said many children die from diarrhoea every year while most of such deaths can be prevented through access to safe drinking water, adequate sanitation, and good hygiene through interventions by the private sector.
The six months-long project, which is scheduled for completion by June this year, will be the second within a year after Schweppes Zimbabwe, a manufacturer and distributor of non-carbonated still beverages under licence from The Coca-Cola Company in partnership with DanChurchAid Zimbabwe, provided 2 181 families with clean water in Bulawayo as part of their Covid-19 humanitarian support.
Ncube applauded the progress the Government was making towards fulfilling the Constitutional provision of making access to water a basic human right.
“The Coca-Cola Foundation and our able and experienced partner DanChurchAid Zimbabwe are committed to helping the Government improve access to water for its citizens.
“Water-related diseases contribute to under-nutrition because they affect a person’s ability to absorb key nutrients,” he said.
Ncube said more than 50 percent of hospital visits were for preventable illnesses related to inadequate water, sanitation, or improper hygiene.
“With the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the need for clean water becomes even more critical and paramount. Partnering together to invest in such programmes will improve the survival, well-being, and productivity of our people,” said Ncube.
“The partnership we are strengthening will lead to sustainable economic growth over time, and also deliver social benefits to the entire country — especially to youth, women and the poor.”