CINCINNATI, Dec. 23, 2008 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) and global health organization Population Services International (PSI) will provide 10 million liters of safe drinking water to help prevent cholera in Zimbabwe. More than one-thousand people have died from the current cholera outbreak in Zimbabwe.

Developed by P&G, PURTM Purifier of Water is a powdered water clarification and disinfectant technology that comes in small, easy-to-use packets. Using some of the same ingredients as municipal water systems, the PUR water purification packets remove pollutants and cysts, as well as kill viruses and bacteria, including the bacteria that cause cholera.

PSI has the staff, infrastructure and resources to distribute the PUR packets provided by partner non-governmental organization, AmeriCares. The packets will be distributed for free to those living in areas with high cholera outbreaks in and around Harare, Beitbridge and Mudzi, Zimbabwe. Approximately 10,000 families with 40,000 to 60,000 people will be reached with the free distribution of the PUR packets to meet their water treatment needs for three months.

"P&G is grateful for the work of our safe drinking water partners, PSI and AmeriCares, during this holiday season to make PUR available to the people of Zimbabwe and to help address this deadly cholera outbreak," said Greg Allgood, Director, Children's Safe Drinking Water at P&G. "PSI will provide the equivalent of 300 tanker trucks of purified water treated with the PUR packets in order to help prevent thousands of cases of cholera."

The Children's Safe Drinking Water (CSDW) program is a signature program of P&G's Live, Learn and ThriveTM global cause, which reached more than 60 million children in need around the world just last year. P&G launched CSDW in 2003 and since then has worked with partners to provide more than 1.3 billion liters of clean drinking water to people in over 40 countries. PSI is a critical partner in these efforts and provides PUR in 10 countries. In 2008, PSI received commendation from the Congolese government for providing PUR to save lives during a cholera outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. More information is available at www.csdw.org.

About Procter & Gamble

Three billion times a day, P&G brands touch the lives of people around the world. The company has one of the strongest portfolios of trusted, quality, leadership brands, including PUR(R), Pampers(R), Tide(R), Ariel(R), Always(R), Whisper(R), Pantene(R), Mach3(R), Bounty(R), Dawn(R), Gain(R), Pringles(R), Folgers(R), Charmin(R), Downy(R), Lenor(R), Iams(R), Crest(R), Oral-B(R), Actonel(R), Duracell(R), Olay(R), Head & Shoulders(R), Wella(R), Gillette(R), Braun(R) and Fusion(R). The P&G community includes approximately 138,000 employees working in over 80 countries worldwide. In these countries and beyond, P&G is committed to improving lives for children in need, ages 0-13, through its global corporate cause, Live, Learn and Thrive. Please visit www.pg.com for the latest news and in-depth information about P&G, its brands, and Live, Learn and Thrive.

About Population Services International

PSI is a Washington D.C. based nonprofit organization operating in more than 65 countries. With programs in malaria, reproductive health, child survival and HIV, PSI promotes products, services and healthy behavior that enable low-income and vulnerable people to lead healthier lives. PSI's Child Survival programs promote healthy behaviors by educating individuals about purifying drinking water in the home, practicing improved hygiene and offering treatment for diarrheal disease if a child falls ill. www.psi.org.

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