News Analysis |
Coca-Cola, Pakistan’s leading beverage company and music production maestro has partnered with Rotary Pakistan’s National PolioPlus Committee, and UNDP as administrative partner, for the project ‘Zindagi’, with an aim to provide clean drinking water and weeding out the transmission of water-borne diseases in Pakistan.
The $80,000 investment has been funded by The Coca-Cola Foundation and the third of five solar-powered filtration plants has been inaugurated in Aurangi, Sindh, which is the 5th largest slum in the world with a population of 2.5 million, according to a study conducted by Habitat for Humanity, UK. The plant was jointly inaugurated by Rotary National Chair Aziz Memon, DG OvaisKohari and Dr. Inayatullah Kandero, Medical Superintendent at Qatar Hospital.
The Phase 2 of the project was launched earlier this year for providing convenient access to clean drinking water to a population of 140,000 across Punjab and Sindh’s catchment areas, with each plant recharging 3,000 gallons of water twice a day per shift. Previously, the reverse osmosis plant in Malir town of Karachi installed in 2014 has helped in the reduction of water-borne diseases by an estimated 70%. The new plant at Sindh Government Qatar Hospital in Orangi will serve 55,000 individuals with potable water in the catchment area, along with health and hygiene training.
Sustainable partnerships like ‘Zindagi’ project is vital so that our future generations can be presented with a polio-free Pakistan. Also, on the polio front, The UAE has funded nearly 300 million polio vaccination shots for children in Pakistan.
Speaking about the partnership between Coca-Cola and Rotary, Rizwan Khan, General Manager, The Coca-Cola Export Corporation, Pakistan and Afghanistan said “It was of great concern to us that Pakistan remains only one of two polio-risk countries in the world. Therefore, as a socially responsible corporate citizen, we decided to make our contribution to fight the transmission risk of water borne viruses. With a deep commitment for Pakistan’s welfare, our ethos is to create shared value through sustainable development, which is reliant on the health of our nation.”
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At the inauguration ceremony, a Symbolic Key was presented to the Dr. Inayatullah Kandero, responsible for operationalization of the plant. While inaugurating the plant, Rotary National Chair Aziz Memon commented, “Orangi Town is one of the most underprivileged urban slums in Karachi and the supply of safe drinking water will greatly improve health issues of the community and save children from water-borne diseases.
Previously, the reverse osmosis plant in Malir town of Karachi installed in 2014 has helped in the reduction of water-borne diseases by an estimated 70%. The new plant at Sindh Government Qatar Hospital in Orangi will serve 55,000 individuals with potable water in the catchment area, along with health and hygiene trainings.
The new plant at Sindh Government Qatar Hospital in Orangi will serve 55,000 individuals with potable water in the catchment area, along with health and hygiene training.
Sustainable partnerships like ‘Zindagi’ project is vital so that our future generations can be presented with a polio-free Pakistan. Also, on the polio front, The UAE has funded nearly 300 million polio vaccination shots for children in Pakistan. A $120 million (Dh440.8m) pledge made by Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, in 2013 has been completed, it was announced last month in a press release.
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Sheikh Mohammed has also pledged an additional $30 million in the fight to eliminate a disease which once killed and disabled millions, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative said. With polio entirely eliminated in most of the world, Pakistan remains one of the last hotspots. Last year saw the lowest number of wild polio disease cases in medical history, at just 22 cases. In Pakistan, reported cases have fallen by 97 percent between 2014 and 2017.
While there is no cure for the disease, vaccinations can prevent it being contracted. As a result, it is estimated 1.5 million childhood deaths have been prevented since 1988, while 16 million have escaped potential paralysis. When the current polio eradication campaign started 30 years ago, polio paralyzed 350,000 children every year, in 125 countries.