CMMB and P&G: A Life-Changing Clean Water Partnership

Two billion people worldwide lack reliable access to clean, safe drinking water. When the need is so great, our collective response must be greater. For nearly a decade, CMMB has partnered with P&G to bring clean drinking water into homes, schools, and health facilities in remote, hard-to-reach places. The result: over 729 million liters of drinkable water provided.

Together, we’ve made a life-changing impact. CMMB and P&G Children’s Safe Drinking Water Program have distributed millions of P&G Purifier of Water (POW) sachets to water-stressed communities in Kenya, Peru, South Sudan, and Zambia. These POW sachets purify 10 liters of potentially contaminated water in just 30 minutes. Families can make their water safe for drinking with just a bucket, a stick or spoon for stirring, and a clean cotton cloth for filtering. As cups of clean water replace dirty ones, we see the health of communities improve.

Thanks to P&G’s generosity, we’ve been able to distribute POWs to address immediate and emergency needs, like in South Sudan, where communities are struggling with a deadly cholera outbreak. At the same time, we have looked towards the future together, engineering a water pipeline system and installing rainwater collection tanks to ensure safe water is readily available year-round in Kenya. We thank P&G for their incredible partnership and celebrate what we’ve achieved since 2016.

Our Work in Kenya

Clean, safe drinking water is hard to find in drought-prone regions of Kenya. Rivers dry up after the rainy season or are contaminated by agricultural and human waste. In remote, impoverished Kitui County, residents walk between four and six miles, or sometimes more, to fetch water from shallow wells or springs. Without knowing the importance of purifying water or lacking the resources to do so, people drink unsafe water, and diarrheal diseases are a top cause of death.

Since 2017, CMMB and P&G have distributed millions of POWs to Kitui County’s water-stressed health facilities, schools, and households during the rainy season—when the risk of falling ill due to drinking contaminated water is at its peak. Community health workers demonstrate how to use the POWs correctly and emphasize the importance of consuming only clean water—new information for some of the remote communities we serve. We built support with community leaders, who helped us dispel myths and misconceptions about drinking treated water.

As we continued distributing POWs during high-risk periods over time, the Kenya Ministry of Health saw the monthly rate of diarrhea cases drop by 70% in one year, giving healthcare workers more time to focus on other health issues—particularly critical during the COVID-19 pandemic. For mothers, the difference was eye-opening. Today, families have the tools to prioritize drinking clean water to protect their families’ health. They use POWs when available, but have also learned other purification methods, such as boiling water.

Building Reliable Clean Water Infrastructure

Richard maintains the control house for the subsurface sand dam and water system.

P&G also supported Kitui County with a permanent solution for clean drinking water in 2023. With support from P&G and in partnership with the county government, CMMB installed a new subsurface sand dam, expanding the continual supply of safe water. We fitted a sump well with a solar-powered pump to supply water at a consistent rate of 288,000 liters a day. This new infrastructure, including over nine miles of pipeline, connects more than 7,700 people with clean, safe water. Nearby Kisayani Maternity Facility, which was closed previously due to water scarcity, is now open and serving new mothers and newborns thanks to this solution.

Equipping Health Facilities and Schools

With P&G’s generous support, CMMB installed rainwater harvesting systems at high-need Kitui County schools and health facilities. We also built ventilated improved pit latrines, designed to reduce odor and flies. And we installed hundreds of handwashing facilities in public spaces throughout the county, helping to curb the spread of disease through better hygiene.

Our Work in South Sudan

Years of violent conflict make daily life in the world’s youngest country a struggle. In South Sudan’s Western Equatoria State, women and children walk far distances to find water, then stand in long lines to get it. Sometimes, they are targets of violence along the way. Many opt to seek closer water sources, like hand-dug wells or streams, risking diarrhea and worm infection. Diarrheal disease is the second-leading cause of death in the country.

There is much to do here. With P&G’s support, CMMB distributed POW sachets to protect families during the rainy seasons. We made a special effort to distribute sachets to displaced people, given that ongoing violence in South Sudan has displaced over two million people. Since 2016, CMMB and P&G have distributed POWs to people forced to flee their homes, often living in camps or temporary shelters with limited access to water. While distributing, we trained community health workers to demonstrate how to use POWs and emphasize the importance of drinking clean water.

Looking toward the future, CMMB, with P&G support, repaired non-functioning boreholes (deep, narrow holes dug in the ground to find water) and created new ones. We also installed a solar-powered pump in South Sudan’s Azanza village, serving 700 households.

Our Work in Zambia

In Mwandi District, Zambia, half the population struggles to find safe water. Children rise before dawn to walk to an often-contaminated water source, and risk not getting to school on time. Most families lack piped water, but even those with working faucets receive water contaminated by leaky pipes.

Families use shallow, open wells. But the water they collect is salty and often brown. P&G’s POWs reduce diarrhea rates and improve the taste of Mwandi’s water. During the yearly rainy season and waterborne disease outbreaks that demand an emergency response, the POWs have been nothing short of lifesaving.

Responding to a Cholera Outbreak

Zambia’s capital city, Lusaka, experienced a cholera outbreak in 2017. The disease spreads through bacteria-contaminated food or water and can be fatal within hours if not treated. Clean water helps prevent transmission of this deadly disease.

Working together, CMMB and P&G distributed 3.5 million POWs to vulnerable households in Lusaka between 2017 and 2019. The outbreak was brought under control, and more families realized the benefits of drinking only purified water.

Our Work in Peru

Torrential downpours flooded Trujillo, Peru in early 2017. In the La Esperanza district, 200 homes collapsed in the swirling mud and water, and 20,000 people lost water access.

We responded to the crisis with help from our trusted partner. P&G provided 600,000 POWs to 10,000 flood-affected households. P&G also helped with two mobile health clinics, enabling us to care for 1,000 children and their families.

We Are Grateful for P&G’s Partnership

Today, more people in the places we serve have access to clean drinking water. Thanks to water purification technology and sustainable water delivery systems, it’s easier for families to stay healthy and hydrated. Children spend more time learning in school, not sick with diarrhea. And as communities see the positive benefits of drinking clean water, they advocate for their future, spurring governmental and nongovernmental support for reliable water access that puts an end to preventable diseases and deaths.

Without the support of P&G Children’s Safe Drinking Water Program, none of this would have happened. Together, we have provided more than 729 million liters of clean, safe water—and shown how water can transform communities.