Description/achievement of initiative
Vestergaard Frandsen commits support to the UN Secretary-General's Every Woman Every Child effort to improve women's and children's health. The company's contribution comes through its ongoing LifeStraw Carbon For Water programme, a ten-year project that has brought safe water to 880,000 homes in western Kenya through an initial investment of USD 30 million. This means that more than 2 million women and nearly 800,000 children under the age of five now have markedly improved chances of avoiding the waterborne illnesses that threaten their lives and thereby impede broader development. The project ensures that women and children have safe drinking water and thereby supports maternal and child health along the entire length of the WHO's continuum of care. In addition, through partnerships with the UN, the Kenyan government, and local stakeholders, Vestergaard Frandsen is achieving gains for women and children's health in western Kenya, and will continue to do so over the next ten years of the LifeStraw Carbon For Water project.
Implementation methodologies
Through LifeStraw Carbon For Water, Vestergaard Frandsen provides free products (LifeStraw Family water filters) and services (education, training, repair, and replacement) that will help move the population of Kenya's Western Province closer to achievement of several of the Millennium Development Goals.
Arrangements for Capacity-Building and Technology Transfer
Coordination mechanisms/governance structure
Partner(s)
UN, the Kenyan government, and local stakeholders