PepsiCo donates $1m to Philippines Typhoon Haiyan disaster relief
The snack and beverage giant, through its PepsiCo Foundation, has partnered with four relief agencies, pledging $250,000 to each – American Red Cross International Response Fund, Give2Asia, Habitat for Humanity International and Save the Children – to provide immediate aid and long-term support.
The typhoon hit the Philippines on Friday November 8 and UN figures suggest around 9.8m people have been affected and thousands killed.
“Over the last few days, we have seen heartbreaking scenes from the Philippines caused by this historic typhoon. Our thoughts and prayers are with the millions of people affected by this devastating storm,” said Indra Nooyi, chairman and CEO of PepsiCo.
“As a committed member of the Filipino community, PepsiCo is bringing its resources and its partners together to help in this time of incredible need. We will be there for the Filipino people as they respond to and recover from this natural disaster,” she said.
The funds to the Red Cross will help immediate rescue teams and food distribution. Give2Asia and Save the Children funds will be dedicated to immediate and long-term relief efforts while the money to Habitat for Humanity International will go towards distributing thousands of clean-up kits and shelter repair kits.
Concerns over relief aid
The Philippine Red Cross has said that looting across the country has hampered search and rescue relief efforts.
Debris and blocked roads are also making relief efforts more difficult and preventing food and aid supplies reaching those affected.
“The PepsiCo Foundation will collaborate with agency partners over the coming months to assess the deployment of the relief committed and potential needs in the future,” it said.
The PepsiCo Foundation was established in 1962 to provide charitable contributions to non-profit organizations. It has provided funds to relief partners working across the globe following natural disasters, including earthquakes in Japan and China and hurricanes in the US.
