Swiss Re Donates $99 Million to Red Cross

Swiss Re is honoring “International Water Day” on March 22 by making a CHF 1 million ($99.2 million) donation to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) for an infrastructure project in Ethiopia which focuses on providing clean and sanitary water supply to the region’s rural population.

“Providing access to clean water, and restored health and sanitation facilities will have a sustainable effect on the livelihood of the population, especially in rural areas,” said the announcement. “Swiss Re has therefore decided to support the ICRC’s project ‘Providing clean water in Ethiopia in 2008′ with a special donation.”

Swiss Re also noted that it is a founding member of the ICRC’s Corporate Support Group established in 2005. “Support of a water-related project also underlines Swiss Re’s Corporate Citizenship commitment to promote sustainable watershed management,” said the bulletin. “Last year, Swiss Re also donated CHF 1 million for an ICRC project in north-western Nepal which provided water supply systems to some 15 000 people, granting them access to safe drinking water and sanitation facilities.”

Peter Forstmoser, Swiss Re’s Chairman of the Board explained that the “considers respect for humanitarian values indispensable to society’s sustainable development. This special donation to the ICRC’s effort to re-establish clean water supply and sanitation systems in areas of tension underlines Swiss Re’s commitment to both humanitarian values and sustainable development.”

Source: Swiss Re – www.swissre.com