Making It RAIN: The Coca Cola Foundation’s Flagship Program Surpasses Its Goal

The Coca Cola Foundation’s (TCCF) Replenish Africa Initiative (RAIN) is certainly “blessing the rains down in Africa”. Access to clean potable water is a serious issue plaguing the African countries. Since its launch in 2009, TCCF’s RAIN has been moving along in leaps and bounds.

TCCF announced that RAIN had achieved its objective of improving 6 million people’s access to clean drinking water across the continent. RAIN was initially introduced to help the African countries achieve the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals on clean water and sanitation (SDG 6).

This achievement is a noteworthy one, given the current pandemic situation. TCCF’s partnership with over 300 international and local, private, public and civil societies was responsible for bringing about this positive change.

RAIN’s impact in Africa over the past decade is visible through various programmes in schools, clinics and communities. Access to clean water has undergone an improvement. Another upside to this positive change is the adoption of better hygiene practices. An improvement in the quality of life is visible in these communities due to the efforts of RAIN.

Additionally, RAIN has also introduced practices to protect watershed and water conservation initiatives. It has also tackled the problem of growing water demands in the cities. The outcome of these initiatives was the generation of employment and the creation of opportunities for budding entrepreneurs and skill development. This is a great piece of news for a continent like Africa where economic emancipation is a chronic disease.

Bea Perez, Chair and President, The Coca Cola Foundation, said, “RAIN is a testament to the power of collective action. Working with our partners, RAIN’s transformative impact can be felt today in 4,000 African communities. This program drives impact for the Sustainable Development Goals and our focus on People, Communities, and the Environment.”

Experience and data garnered from a decades’ work have enabled RAIN to come up with recommendations and plan of action like:

• Highlighting the partnerships with urban and peri-urban utilities to better serve Africa’s ever-expanding urban environment.
• Expedite the integrated water management programs in an effort to reduce the stress on food production and water supply services.
• Upgrade the protection provided to the watersheds that are the source of potable water to millions of Africans.
• Helping the communities to build up resilience to water-related climate impacts.

Bruno Pietracci, President for The Coca Cola Company’s Africa operating unit, said that Africa was experiencing a boom in urban growth and was home to 21 of the world’s 30 fastest growing cities. Furthermore, he added, “Africa is also more vulnerable to climate change than any other region. The Coca-Cola Foundation is committed to working with communities and governments to enhance climate change adaptation and help address the challenges that urbanization creates for the delivery of clean water and sanitation throughout the continent.”