The Coca-Cola Company announced that it has committed $30 million over the next six years to provide access to safe drinking water to communities throughout Africa through its Replenish Africa Initiative (RAIN).

"Africa's water crisis threatens the health of its population and, therefore, its prospects for economic growth," said Muhtar Kent, President and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company. Helping African communities tackle their water challenges is an important priority for our Company and our bottling partners and is an area where we can make a positive and lasting impact."

Between 2004 and 2015, the number of people living without access to safe water in sub-Saharan Africa is expected to increase by 47 million people. Africa is expected to miss the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals target for access to clean drinking water by 111 million people and the sanitation target by 289 million.

"No single organization can resolve Africa's development challenges, but together with civic society, nongovernmental organizations and government we can make a positive difference in the lives of the people who make up our communities," said William Asiko, President of The Coca-Cola Africa Foundation.

The Coca-Cola Africa Foundation currently has water projects in 19 African countries - Angola, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Cote d' Ivoire, Kenya, Mali, Malawi, Morocco, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda and Zambia - reaching over 300,000 people.

These water projects are all implemented in partnership with local communities in each country. The Company's strategy for achieving that goal has three components: Reduce - Improving water efficiency by 20 percent by 2012, compared to a baseline year 2004. Recycle - Returning all water the Company uses for manufacturing processes to the environment at a level that supports aquatic life and agriculture by the end of 2010. Replenish - Expanding the Company's support of healthy watersheds and sustainable community water programs to balance the water used in its finished beverages.

"Having access to clean water still remains a luxury, not a given, in large parts of the continent," Asiko said.

"RAIN helps us both fulfill our environmental goals while also providing health benefits that will allow our communities and our business to grow and prosper."