WRC'S WOMEN + WATER COLLABORATIVE TO IMPROVE ACCESSIBILITY, QUALITY WATER IN INDIA

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 18 (Bernama) -- The Water Resilience Coalition (WRC), an industry-driven, Chief Executive Officer (CEO)-led initiative convening global companies to address the global water crisis, has launched the Women + Water Collaborative, a flagship corporate collective action programme to improve access to clean water and sanitation in India.

Gap Inc, Cargill, and GSK, in partnership with WaterAid and the WRC, are launching the initiative to improve health, livelihoods, and climate resilience in water-stressed communities in India, beginning with the Krishna and Godavari basins.

According to a statement, the WRC is an initiative of the CEO Water Mandate, a partnership between the UN Global Compact and the Pacific Institute, a global water think tank.

This marks the first time that companies from different sectors spanning apparel, biopharma, and agriculture have united with shared goals, metrics, and governance to provide access to clean water and sanitation in the same communities.

“As part of the Forward Faster Water Resilience Target and as members of the Water Resilience Coalition, the companies involved in this initiative have joined an alliance that thrives on collaboration and collective action.

“This cooperation will play a key role in achieving the WRC's ambitious goals outlined in its 2030 strategy,” said the United Nations Global Compact CEO and Executive Director, and WRC Co-Chair, Sanda Ojiambo.

The Women + Water Collaborative will improve the availability and quality of water in priority river basins through water replenishment and conservation using methods such as rainwater harvesting, providing communities with safe drinking water as well as climate-resilient sanitation, and hygiene infrastructure and services.

Although women in rural India play a crucial role in water collection and use, their participation in decision-making around water resources remains low, therefore this programme will leverage women’s leadership to build water resilience, improve water security, and enable equitable access to water and sanitation for communities at scale.

This flagship collective action programme demonstrates tangible progress toward WRC’s ambition to contribute to water security for three billion people and enable equitable access to water, sanitation, and hygiene for over 300 million people by 2030.

WaterAid will launch the programme in five Indian states and six priority districts. The NGO is keen to bring on additional corporate partners to expand the reach.

-- BERNAMA