COVID-19 has revealed
critical fault lines in society — especially the lack of clean, safe
water. Three billion
people worldwide do not have
access to the first line of defense against the disease — basic handwashing
facilities with soap and water — and, for many, this can be a matter of life and
death. And while the pandemic has thrown this crisis into sharper focus than
ever before, people around the world have had no water in their homes, schools
and even medical facilities for decades.
In developing countries, approximately 80 percent of
illnesses are linked to dirty
water and poor sanitation. Too often it is factors like income, geography and
gender which determine who has access to clean water. This basic human right is
foundational to education, health, nutrition and decent work. Without it,
vulnerable groups are shut off from the benefits they deserve.
Frequent and proper handwashing is critical to fighting COVID-19; but it
requires education, access to a water source; and pipes, pumps and facilities
where people can turn on a tap. Safe water access programs are often prioritized
in cities, for instance, leaving 8 in
10 people
in rural areas without access. Furthermore, many people in hard-to-reach regions
do not have the capital to build and maintain safe water infrastructure or the
resources to encourage proper handwashing. For that reason, we urgently need
both public and private investment. Without it, these communities cannot
thrive.
That’s why The PepsiCo
Foundation and
WaterAid are launching a program to build
sanitation facilities and community water systems in the harsh, arid region of
La Guajira, Colombia — with the goal of increasing access for the indigenous
Wayuu people. Decades of disenfranchisement have left only 16 percent of the
Wayuu with access to water and a mere 4 percent with access to basic sanitation.
Wayuu children are dying from malnutrition and illness. Wells have dried up.
There is very little food. Clean water will transform these communities.
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This program is based on work we pioneered in communities in rural India.
Together, we’ve directly helped almost one-quarter million people facing extreme
water shortages gain access to clean water and sanitation. Based on our success,
we partnered with local governments who invested to provide an additional 90,000
people access to clean water and sanitation in three states — support that will
continue for years to come. And in response to COVID-19, we launched a
mass-media hygiene and handwashing awareness campaign in India that has reached
more than one million people across 13 states, designing materials in various
languages and levels of literacy.
Handwashing and hygiene infrastructure can prevent future pandemics before they
start, and improve global health and livelihoods on a massive scale — but only
if we continue to prioritize these initiatives with community-based
interventions that address existing inequalities.
As we look toward a 2030 deadline for reaching Sustainable Development Goal
6 — ensuring access to water and sanitation for all — we must keep in mind one
of the guiding principles behind these goals: “Leave no one behind.” Today, more
than three billion people are left without access to safe water, placing them at
greater risk of contracting and spreading COVID-19 and other diseases.
Clean water is a human right. We must ensure that it is easily accessible to
everyone in every community, no matter how hard to reach. Let’s harness the
public awakening about the importance of handwashing, hygiene and safe water to
stem the spread of COVID-19 in 2021, and change the face of global public health
for years to come.
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EVP of Global Communications
PepsiCo
Jon Banner is the Executive Vice President of Global Communications at PepsiCo and President of The PepsiCo Foundation.
Kelly Parsons is CEO of WaterAid America.
Published Mar 22, 2021 8am EDT / 5am PDT / 12pm GMT / 1pm CET