A. M. After ten years of work, the “Baños Cambian Vidas” program has benefited more than six million people in Latin America and the Caribbean, providing access to decent sanitation, access to safe drinking water, adequate toilets, and hygiene education.
Through this initiative, Kimberly-Clark and its Scott brand, in partnership with Walmart Central America, have benefited more than four million Central Americans. With the support of the NGOs Water For People and Plan International, sustainable community water and sanitation systems have been built.
Since 2017, hygiene education has been actively promoted in vulnerable communities, benefiting 3.5 million people to date.
“These 10 years have been an enriching process, one of significant growth, awareness, and, at the same time, moments of hope. At the heart of this initiative is our aspiration to create a more sustainable and healthier future in line with our purpose of providing Better Care for a Better World. Therefore, understanding our context regarding sanitation in Central America, we celebrate that this program has made it possible to facilitate the availability of drinking water and access to a decent bathroom in many communities”, said Kenneth Hylton, director of Marketing for Family and Professional Care in Latin America at Kimberly-Clark.
This year, the program will assist approximately 230,000 people in the region, with the goal of ensuring that every family, health center, and public school has access to quality drinking water and sanitation services, promoting sustainability throughout the process.
Claudia de Ibañez, Deputy Director of Social License at Walmart Central America, spoke about the program’s fundamental role in eradicating the lack of sanitation in the region’s communities. “At Walmart Central America, we seek to be an agent of change in the communities where we operate. Through this initiative, we want to continue generating a lasting and sustainable cultural change in this population”.
For 10 million lives transformed!
With the goal of positively impacting 10 million people by 2030, the project not only seeks to expand the availability of drinking water and safe toilets, but also hygiene education.
To this end, Kimberly-Clark has invested more than $2.7 million. This investment has been allocated to the development of sustainable solutions, seeking to improve the well-being of communities in Latin America and the Caribbean.
In rural areas of Central America, installing drinking water systems and adequate toilets represents a considerable challenge due to the dispersion of housing. To address this, beneficiaries receive training in self-management, which fosters behavioral changes and improves their quality of life.
