Environment

Mexico’s FEMSA Foundation to invest 22 million dollars in water, sanitation

Mexico City, Apr 4 (EFE).- The FEMSA Foundation, one of the most important in Mexico, announced an investment of 22 million dollars in the water and sanitation sector by 2030 during the Waves of Change event, which is an opportunity to reflect on decision-making regarding the issue.

The event, within the framework of the Water Conference in New York, was promoted by organizations such as the FEMSA Foundation, in collaboration with the One Drop Foundation, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI), Wavin, Heineken Mexico, and Coca-Cola FEMSA.

Representatives from the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) of the Government of Switzerland, the Government of Israel, and South Korea’s Ministry of Environment also participated.

At the forum, it was highlighted that Latin America, which has 30% of the world’s water fit for human consumption, also has approximately 160 million people who lack access to safe water for human consumption.

In this context, Waves of Change organized four events that were attended by nearly 400 people in person and more than 2,000 via the internet.

One of the events was “Be the drop that shapes the wave” which unveiled the artistic installation created by more than 100 agents of change from the American continent who, together with the Spanish artist Inma Barrero, reflected on and captured their essential link with water.

Lorena Guillé-Laris, Executive Director of FEMSA Foundation, shared the joint commitment of her organization, the One Drop Foundation, and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to continue collaborating in projects that contribute to providing access to safe water to an additional 1 million people in Latin America.

Another event was the Latin American version of “Talking about what is not talked about”, which reflected on how to build resilient cities in the midst of the climate crisis, build communication and collaboration bridges between different sectors, and push for innovation and new solutions that help to make food and beverage production less water-intensive.

A total of 19 experts, including speakers and panelists from different countries and sectors, participated in the 3-hour discussion.

Among them were the governor of the Mexican state of Nuevo León, Samuel García; Chris Williams, director of UN-Habitat New York; Janet Tinsley, Chief Global Impact Officer at Water.org; and Farmer Lee Jones, an American farmer and owner of Chefs Gardens.

The event “Celebrating the source of innovation” was also held, highlighting the importance of driving innovation in the sector.

At the event it was pointed out that in Latin America only 20% of utilities have an innovation unit, less than 10% practice innovation and only 2% have innovation plans.

Also highlighted was the fundamental role of governments in creating and implementing policies, programs and real incentives that create favorable conditions for scaling up innovations and helping them reach vulnerable communities.

Within the framework of these events, the FEMSA Foundation announced its commitment to invest 22 million dollars until 2030, in addition to seeking allies to ensure that for every dollar invested, there are another 5 dollars from other partners who share the vision and action for water security in Latin America. EFE

csr/ppc/cfa-pbd/lap

(photo)

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