Also more than six hundred million people over the world lack access to clean water.
Sobowale, who spoke in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital yesterday during an inauguration of a water project built by his company revealed that since 2007, the “Water of Life Programme”, a pet programme initiated by Guinness had provided clean drinking water to over 10 million people in 18 countries in Africa.
He said under that programme in Nigeria, water facilities had been constructed in 22 communities across the country.
According to him, “Through these water projects, Guinness Nigeria has helped thousands of Nigerian families to access clean water and ultimately improve their overall health and well-being.”
Sobowale said scarcity of clean water in Nigeria had fuelled the spread of “deadly but easily preventable diseases such as diarrhoea, cholera and typhoid”.
He therefore, said “this worrisome status quo inspired Diageo’s water blueprint which articulates the role we play in addressing a wide range of water related issues both in Nigeria and globally.”
He added “Diageo has prioritised interventions that provide clean drinking water for communities around the world. We have also invested in technologies that help us manage our water use.”
In her own submission, the public officer of the US embassy, Mrs Dehab Ghebreab, said there should be partnership between government and private sector, saying “government cannot solve all societal problems”.
Ogun State Deputy Governor, Mrs Yetunde Onanuga commended Guinness for the gesture, stressing that water formed part of the cardinal programmes of the present administration in the state.
SOURCE: ngrguardiannews.com
