Inside The P&G Children’s Safe Drinking Water Program

Happi Top 50 Company P&G says it’s committed to making peoples’ lives better in small, but meaningful ways, every day.

Water is a simple necessity, yet 2 billion people worldwide lack access to clean drinking water, limiting the ability for families and communities to thrive. For over 20 years, the company says its been committed to providing clean water to children and families in need through the P&G Children’s Safe Drinking Water (CSDW) Program.

The P&G CSDW Program has helped keep children and families healthy, enabled educational opportunities and helped communities grow around the world. Built on innovative science and strong partnerships, the program has delivered over 23 billion liters of clean water to 100 countries.

Water Treatment Plant in a Packet

The heart of the CSDW Program is the P&G Purifier of Water packet, an innovation developed by P&G scientist Dr. Phil Souter. Following a trip to Southeast Asia, where he saw children without access to clean drinking water, Dr. Souter was inspired to apply P&G’s fabric care cleaning technology to create a solution.

The four-gram packet transforms contaminated water into clean drinking water in 30 minutes using a bucket, poon and a cloth. The innovation empowers families to live healthier lives by reducing incidences of waterborne illness.

The Next Generation of Water Champions

The CSDW program, in partnership with organizations like CARE and Save the Children, empowers children with knowledge about hygiene and water purification, creating a ripple effect of positive change within their communities, officials said.

Inspired by lessons from CARE Kenya while in primary school in Bondo, a rural region near Kenya’s Lake Victoria, a young water champion named Bonface began educating his classmates at 13 years old as elected chair of his school’s health club. Now 23, Bonface continues to champion clean water in his community, demonstrating the lasting impact of education.

Around the world, the responsibility for household water management disproportionately falls on women and girls, often preventing them from pursuing education and economic opportunities. Officials say the CSDW program helps alleviate this burden, empowering women and girls to reach their full potential.

In Malaka, Indonesia, P&G’s partnership with ChildFund Indonesia helped transform a young woman named Veronika’s life. As a high school student, Veronika spent hours collecting and boiling contaminated water each day, leaving little time for her studies, until she discovered the CSDW program. The clean water from the P&G Purifier of Water packets helped alleviate her stomach aches, leaving more time to focus on her education, and the chance to build meaningful friendships. With access to clean water, Veronika focused on her studies and became a water champion, educating her community on the importance of clean water and hygiene.

Veronika’s story spotlights how access to clean water can empower women and girls, uplifting entire communities and fostering the next generation of leaders and innovators.

A Global Impact

P&G’s partners – CARE, ChildFund International, Save the Children and World Vision — work tirelessly to distribute these packets to communities in need around the world, ensuring access to clean water where it’s needed most. Events like Global Citizen Festival help raise awareness about the transformative power of clean water, driving support for the program around the world.

Over its 20-year history, the CSDW program has partnered with over 150 organizations worldwide, leveraging their expertise and on-the-ground presence to deliver clean water to more than 100 countries.

P&G and its partners say they’re on a mission to deliver 25 billion liters of clean water by 2025.