PepsiCo Foundation, Brac enable affordable safe drinking water

PepsiCo Foundation, a philanthropic arm of PepsiCo, and Brac have announced the culmination of their project to provide access to safe drinking water to underserved communities in Cox's Bazar marking World Water Day today.

Local water entrepreneurs created treatment plants providing safe drinking water at an affordable price, said a press release.

The project has successfully reached over 13,000 community members and 1,200 underserved households in disaster-prone Moheshkhali and Kutubdia where many water sources have high levels of arsenic and iron.

Communities there 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 and Brac also supported local groups to raise awareness about the importance of safe drinking water and handwashing to improve health and hygiene, especially in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic.