The U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, and the Coca-Cola Company have announced support for a new program in Nigeria, under their Water and Development Alliance, also known as WADA project. The $2 million project will provide up to 100,000 citizens in Cross River State with access to safe drinking water and good sanitation facilities by 2019.
This joint investment is aligned with USAID and Coca Cola’s shared focus on clean water provision as a means to help build healthy, sustainable communities in Nigeria.
“The U.S. Government is committed to engaging in effective and innovative alliances with committed partners to support Nigeria’s critical development needs,” said William Steuer, Acting U.S. Consul General in Lagos. “We are proud to collaborate with Coca-Cola to bring a sustainable and safe water solution to thousands of people in Nigeria,” he added.
During the signing event, USAID Mission Director to Nigeria, Michael T. Harvey said, “Today, we are consolidating a special partnership, one in which a private firm has joined with a U.S. Government Agency to contribute to a priority set by the Government of Nigeria.”
USAID and Coca Cola have collaborated in Nigeria since 2007. The partnership has improved water resource management and expanded sustainable access to safe drinking water and sanitation services in Kano and Enugu States.
The WADA project helps to control and prevent water-related diseases such as cholera, typhoid, and diarrhea by providing water and sanitation services, hygiene education, and establishing Water, Environment, and Sanitation Committees in communities where the project works.
This new agreement will provide a framework to implement WADA and to allow the parties to establish a range of policy issues to achieve their shared objectives in Nigeria.
The United States is proud to work with Nigeria and its international and private sector partners to give the Nigerian people better access to something all human beings need – safe drinking water.
