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Pact, partners unite at 2014 Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting

September 22, 2014

Today, Pact and its partners, Chevron and The Coca-Cola Company and its Foundation, announced a $7 million Clinton Global Initiative Commitment to Action to empower 66,800 women in six regions across Myanmar through financial inclusion, health and mobile technology support. The commitment, announced at 2014 CGI Annual Meeting, builds on two existing highly successful projects between Pact and its partners to improve the lives of thousands of women, their families and communities in Myanmar.

“Partnership is at the heart of what we do,” said Mark Viso, Pact president and CEO. “We’re excited to build on successful partnerships with both Chevron and Coca-Cola, and join forces to positively impact even more lives in Myanmar.”

Pact has been active in Myanmar since 1997, improving health care, livelihoods and community development with nearly 4 million people across 11,147 villages.

One of the key challenges to lifting people out of poverty in Myanmar is inadequate access to capital. With an average per capita income of less than $2 per day, more than one in four people live in poverty. Pact and partners help people access the tools necessary for financial stability, giving them access to income security and, in turn, better health for themselves and their families.

Pact’s signature WORTH initiative, a savings-led finance program, has been implemented across four projects in Myanmar. WORTH enables women to build transparent savings and credit groups and empowers them with financial literacy skills and entrepreneurial training needed to start and grow microenterprises.

In 2012, Pact and Coca-Cola implemented a 5by20 project to support women’s economic empowerment and job creation initiatives in Myanmar. The project has already helped improve the incomes of 21,000 women. The three-year project aims to empower 24,500 women through training, capacity building, and microenterprise development.

“As a long-term partner with Pact in Myanmar, we have seen the improvements in people’s lives that our investments have made. It is our hope that projects such as this help people to make their own economic choices and improve their health and their lives,” said Melody Meyer, President, Chevron Asia Pacific Exploration and Production Company.

Pact and Chevron have been partnering in Myanmar for more than 10 years, improving the health of more than 500,000 people. Through the Sustainable Health and Empowerment (SHINE) program, Pact and Chevron have reached more than 169,000 people in 245 villages with integrated health and livelihoods support. The project facilitates community-led networks, providing them with technical knowledge and training needed to put healthy behaviors into practice.

Pact’s Clinton Global Initiative Commitment to Action will expand the current partnerships in Myanmar and start efforts in two new regions of the country. It will also train and equip WORTH groups and community health workers with mobile technology to improve data collection and access to information. Pact is seeking additional partners on the commitment, including those that can help develop mobile technology tools and platforms to provide participants with improved access to education, training, banking and social services.

 

For more information about Chevron, please contact Justin Higgs at +1-925-790-6501.

For more information about The Coca-Cola Company or The Coca-Cola Foundation, please contact +1-404-676-2683 or tcccpressinquiries@coca-cola.com.

 

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About Pact
Pact is a promise of a better tomorrow for all those who are poor and marginalized.  Working in partnership to develop local solutions that enable people to own their own future, Pact helps people and communities build their own capacity to generate income, improve access to quality health services, and gain lasting benefit from the sustainable use of the natural resources around them. At work in 29 countries, Pact is building local promise with an integrated, adaptive approach that is shaping the future of international development. Visit us at www.pactworld.org

About Chevron
Chevron Corporation is one of the world's leading integrated energy companies, with subsidiaries that conduct business worldwide. The company's success is driven by the ingenuity and commitment of its employees and their application of the most innovative technologies in the world. Chevron is involved in virtually every facet of the energy industry. The company explores for, produces and transports crude oil and natural gas; refines, markets and distributes transportation fuels and other energy products; manufactures and sells petrochemical products; generates power and produces geothermal energy; provides energy efficiency solutions; and develops the energy resources of the future, including biofuels. Chevron is based in San Ramon, Calif. More information about Chevron is available at www.chevron.com.

About The Coca-Cola Company
The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is the world's largest beverage company, refreshing consumers with more than 500 sparkling and still brands. Led by Coca-Cola, one of the world's most valuable and recognizable brands, our Company's portfolio features 17 billion-dollar brands including Diet Coke, Fanta, Sprite, Coca-Cola Zero, vitaminwater, Powerade, Minute Maid, Simply, Georgia and Del Valle. Globally, we are the No. 1 provider of sparkling beverages, ready-to-drink coffees, and juices and juice drinks. Through the world's largest beverage distribution system, consumers in more than 200 countries enjoy our beverages at a rate of 1.9 billion servings a day. With an enduring commitment to building sustainable communities, our Company is focused on initiatives that reduce our environmental footprint, support active, healthy living, create a safe, inclusive work environment for our associates, and enhance the economic development of the communities where we operate. Together with our bottling partners, we rank among the world's top 10 private employers with more than 700,000 system associates. For more information, visit Coca-Cola Journey at www.coca-colacompany.com, follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/CocaColaCo, visit our blog, Coca-Cola Unbottled, at www.coca-colablog.com or find us on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/the-coca-cola-company.

About The Coca-Cola Foundation
The Coca-Cola Foundation is the global philanthropic arm of The Coca-Cola Company. Since its inception in 1984, The Foundation has awarded more than $700 million in support of global community initiatives, e.g., empowering women, replenishing water, and enhancing the overall well-being of people and communities. For more information about The Coca-Cola Foundation, please go to https://www.coca-colacompany.com/our-company/the-coca-cola-foundation/.

About the Clinton Global Initiative
Established in 2005 by President Bill Clinton, the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), an initiative of the Clinton Foundation, convenes global leaders to create and implement solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges. CGI Annual Meetings have brought together more than 180 heads of state, 20 Nobel Prize laureates, and hundreds of leading CEOs, heads of foundations and NGOs, major philanthropists, and members of the media. To date members of the CGI community have made more than 2,900 commitments, which are already improving the lives of more than 430 million people in over 180 countries.

CGI also convenes CGI America, a meeting focused on collaborative solutions to economic recovery in the United States, and CGI University (CGI U), which brings together undergraduate and graduate students to address pressing challenges in their community or around the world. For more information, visit clintonglobalinitiative.org and follow us on Twitter @ClintonGlobal and Facebook at facebook.com/clintonglobalinitiative.