Equatorial Coca-Cola Bottling Company (ECCBC), in partnership with The Coca-Cola Africa Foundation (TCCAF) and United States Agency for International Development (USAID), has inaugurated a Water Health Center (WHC) in Prestea in the Western Region, which will provide potable water to approximately 13,000 people in the area.
This is the 12th Coca-Cola WHC constructed in Ghana under the Safe Water for Africa (SWA) Programme, which is part of TCCAF’s flagship water programme, the Replenish Africa Initiative (RAIN).
RAIN aims to reach at least 6 million people with improved water access, sanitation and hygiene by the end of 2020.
RAIN is helping Africa achieve the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals on clean water and sanitation access.
To date, RAIN has provide improved water access, sanitation and hygiene across 38 countries to more than 2.6 million people.
The Prestea site also falls under a water access, sanitation and hygiene project funded by the Water and Development Alliance (WADA) between Coca-Cola and USAID.
Implemented by WaterHealth International (WHI), SWA is a partnership between TCCAF, The Diageo Foundation, WHI and Kosmos Energy to provide access to safe, sustainable drinking water to African communities.
SWA seeks to work with communities to catalyze the expansion of an innovative water service delivery model across the African continent, which began in Ghana and Nigeria in 2011.
To date, across Ghana, SWA has improved water access for over 150,000 people through the installation of WHCs in 24 communities.
WHCs are small modular structures that house water purification equipment to treat locally available water through a combination of sedimentation, pre-filtration and Ultra Violet technology.
Additionally, WHI hires water system operators, typically from the local community, to maintain each system and establishes a Water Board with members of each community to oversee the project.
WHI works in partnership with communities to determine the appropriate, affordable, usage fees for the water purification service.
Representatives of the Ghanaian administration, various local businesses and members of Equatorial Coca-Cola’s team attended the inauguration ceremony.
Attendees included Mozarc K. Oweh, District Chief Executive (DCE), Nana Nteboa Pra IV, Chief of Heman, Nana Fredua, Business Development Manager, Leah Waters, GETF Director of Partnership Development, Bethel Yeboah, Ghana Public Affairs and Communications Manager, ECCBC and Sonia Ventosa, Public Affairs and Communications Manager, ECCBC.
“Ghanaians face many infrastructural and knowledge-based obstacles when it comes to accessing water and achieving healthy levels of sanitation. At times, these challenges seem insurmountable, but we believe something can and must be done to improve the situation,” Mr. Yeboah said in a short speech at the inauguration ceremony.
Since launching activities on the African continent, Equatorial Coca-Cola has been actively involved in the development of the communities in which the company operates.