뱅크 오브 아메리카(Bank of America, BOA)가 혁신적이고 지역 주도적이며 시장 기반의 물 솔루션을 제공하는 글로벌 조직인 Water.org에 100만 달러의 기금을 수여했다고 발표했다. 이번 기금은 인도 남부지역에 거주하는 10만 명의 인구에 대해 가정 및 지역 사회에 긍정적인 변화를 가속시킴으로써 안전한 물 및 위생 솔루션을 제공하려는 노력에서 마련됐다.

기금은 물이나 화장실을 위한 소규모 자금을 필요로 하는 사람들에게 Water.org가 무상기금을 제공하는 WaterCredit 프로그램을 통해 수여될 예정이다.

Water.org에 따르면 이번 위생 솔루션은 자사가 최근 발표 한 2015 글로벌 위험 평가에서 물로 인한 질병이 인류의 건강과 삶의 질에 영향을 미치는 세계 1위 위험으로 꼽힌 까닭에 진행됐다. 특히, Water.org는 인도의 오염된 물로 인한 질병은 말라리아와 같은 치명적인 질환으로 5세 미만 어린이 사망의 주요 원인 중 하나라고 밝혀져 이 같은 솔루션을 펼쳤다고 덧붙였다.

 

 

 

Bank of America has announced a $1-million grant to Water.org, a global organization providing innovative, community-led and market-based water solutions, in an effort to empower 100,000 people in southern India to obtain safe water and sanitation solutions, accelerating positive change in their homes and communities. This will be achieved through a Water.org program, WaterCredit, which enables people in need to access small loans for water connections and toilets.

 

According to Water.org, water-related illness worldwide, such as diarrhea, is among the leading causes of death in children under 5 years old, listed with deadly diseases, such as malaria. Moreover, according to the World Health Organization, every dollar invested in water and sanitation generates approximately a $4 economic return. The World Economic Forum, in its recently released 2015 Global Risk Assessment, ranked water crises as the No. 1 global risk in terms of impact on people's health and quality of life.

 

Collecting scarce water in impoverished communities is usually the job of women and girls, often taking hours each day. Similar initiatives have shown that with the availability of clean, safe water, their lives can be transformed: Women have significantly more time to pursue paid work, and girls have more time to attend school. Women constitute 91 percent of WaterCredit borrowers globally.

 

Water.org stated that the grant from the Bank of America Charitable Foundation will benefit three of its local WaterCredit partners in the region, helping them to provide small loans for families to pay for water access and sanitation. As the loans are repaid, they will become a new, sustainable source of affordable water and sanitation financing in the region.

 

Through its $70-billion business goal to advance lower-carbon economic solutions through lending; equipment finance; capital markets and advisory activities; carbon finance; and investment advice and solutions for clients globally, Bank of America remains committed to environmental sustainability.

 

[출처 = Water World / 2015년 3월 24일]