PepsiCo announces initiatives with the Earth Institute

The PepsiCo partnership with H2O Africa, the charitable organization founded by Matt Damon, involves on-the-ground clean water projects in Niger, Mali, Senegal and other countries in Africa. H2O Africa will receive $2.5 million over the next 12 months.
"For PepsiCo and the PepsiCo Foundation, these commitments begin with a desire to address the worldwide water crisis. Water sits at the nexus of so many challenges -- global health through disease transmission, increasing hunger through poor agricultural practices, and even education as children in water-scarce economies are often charged with walking miles to collect water from a distant well instead of attending school. Without clean water, none of the other fundamentals leading to a healthy and prosperous life are possible," said Indra Nooyi, PepsiCo chairman and chief executive officer and PepsiCo Foundation chairman.
"As part of our long-standing commitment to address this crisis, we've entered into a strategic partnership with Jeffrey Sachs' Earth Institute and Matt Damon's H2O Africa Foundation to find and implement truly sustainable solutions in India, Brazil, China -- the fastest growing developing markets -- and in communities in Africa, where the need is greatest," said Nooyi. "As leading players in their respective fields, Jeffrey and Matt are uniquely positioned to leverage their influence to make these initiatives bigger, potentially transformational.
This is the essence of innovative collaboration, where different parts of society can mesh to take an idea to scale."
Research reports that more than one billion people do not have access to safe drinking water and every year approximately two million children die unnecessarily from water-related diseases in the developing world. As part of the Millennium Development Goals, which were established in 2000 and endorsed by 192 nations, the world has pledged to reduce by half the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation.
"Water is at the core of economic development and human well being," said Sachs. "With water, there can be productive agriculture, good nutrition, sanitation, and health. Without water, there is only poverty and ...