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January 31, 2018
31 Jan 2018

Sustainable Water Solutions in Jordan Also Fuel Diplomatic Progress

Sustainable Water Solutions in Jordan Also Fuel Diplomatic Progress
Scientists and officials worldwide project that shortages of safe, potable water will be one of the biggest global problems of the 21st century. As the world population continues to expand, water shortages have the potential to drive conflict and to stress systems of regional power. In areas where peace and stability are already tenuous, anxieties about access to safe water threaten to upset these fragile balances.

The Middle East and Water Insecurity

The Middle East is a focal point for potential conflicts about water insecurity. Fortunately, nations in this generally arid region are investing in solutions to the vital problem. The Kingdom of Jordan, for example, is turning a few unconventional solutions to gain water security for its citizens.

Red Sea-Dead Sea Water Conveyance Project

The cornerstone of developing sustainable water solutions in Jordan is the Red Sea-Dead Sea Water Conveyance Project. Alongside desalination and gaining access to unusually deep aquifers, the Read-Dead project, as it is commonly known, is hailed as a “perpetual” solution to water supply in Jordan. The program has the ambitious goal of connecting the landlocked Dead Sea with the Red Sea, the large body of water separating Asia from Africa.

“The national water carrier project is a mid-term solution to the country’s water crisis, but the desalination of Red Sea water under the Red-Dead project is the country’s long-term solution to water scarcity,” said Omar Salameh, from Jordan’s Water Ministry.

Continuous Supply of Water for Jordanians

Once complete, Jordanian officials will be able to resupply the Dead Sea nearly continuously from an oceanic source. Along with modern desalination methods, this achievement will unlock a nearly continuous supply of water for the arid, rapidly growing country. Despite other immediate efforts, the Red-Dead project is the capstone of a suite of sustainable water solutions in Jordan.

The project also stands to have important diplomatic results for the region. Besides the relief in tensions that can come from one nation in the region having better water security, the Red-Dead project stands to benefit other nations besides Jordan as well. Israel and the Palestinian territories border the Dead Sea also, and the Sea has been losing volume for decades. With the solidarity that can come from sharing a common resource, sustainable water solutions in Jordan could have inordinately positive impacts on regional relations as a whole.

– Paul Robertson

Photo: Flickr

in Global Poverty, Jordan, Sustainability, Water, Water Conservation, Water Management /by /#permalink
January 27, 2018
27 Jan 2018

Addressing the Importance of Sanitation and Toilets

Adequate sanitation and toilets are basic necessities that ensure and promote the health of people in developing countries. The importance of sanitation and toilets lies in helping reduce the spread of diseases. Sanitation systems aim to protect health by providing and promoting a clean environment.

Developing countries face challenges in accessing sanitation and hygiene care. The CDC states that hundreds of millions of people do not have access to adequate clean drinking water and that over one million deaths are a result of diseases transmitted via unclean water, poor sanitation and lack of hygiene. Access to soap is an importance of hygiene, and often a challenge in availability for developing countries. The CDC offers an effective hand washing station within communities in need of proper hygiene. Known as Tippy Taps, these stations use less water and soap than other means of hand washing.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is approaching the importance of sanitation and toilets by partnering with several organizations to reduce water-borne diseases. The Water, Sanitation & Hygiene initiative aims to reduce disease and improve lives by looking closely at communities and governments to understand their environment and what is suitable for providing hygiene and water. The Gates Foundation also supports establishing an end to open defecation and upgrading latrines in order to encourage people to practice good hygiene as well as increasing the demand for sanitation.

The World Bank is addressing the importance of sanitation and toilets through the Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) initiative, which assesses the relationship between poverty and hygiene to properly develop methods in bringing hygiene and water. The World Bank found that the effects of unsafe drinking water and lack of proper hygiene result in various other health issues, such as child stunting. WASH, in coordination with other organizations, works to provide appropriate services. The WASH program aims to reduce childhood mortality via investing clean water access to rural communities.

Shedding light on the importance of sanitation and toilets can lead to proposing and establishing sustainable sanitation for communities with no access to sanitation. The disparities of hygiene access need to be addressed to ensure the health of communities and generations to come.

– Jennifer Serrato

Photo: Flickr

in Global Poverty, Hygiene, Infrastructure, Sanitation /by /#permalink
November 6, 2017
06 Nov 2017

Central African Republic Communities Focus on Clean Water

Central African RepublicThe Central African Republic has been the scene of years of conflicts and violence since 2012, which has left thousands of people without access to clean water. Armed forces decided to use water spots, known as wells, as graves for those who died during the conflicts, leading to the contamination of the water and impacting the health of the population.

Access to clean water has always been a problem in the Central African Republic, but the conflict affecting the region has multiplied the issue and the number of affected people. Around 70 percent of the country’s population suffers from lack of safe drinking water and adequate sanitary conditions, a percentage that translates to around 2.2 million people, according to the global humanitarian organization Concern.

An issue that the country needs to address is the lack of water pipes available and the poor conditions of roads which make it extremely difficult for remote populations to bring water to their community. One solution to this problem was the idea to drill wells, but this requires funds and technical expertise for mechanized drills, that isn’t readily available. Fortunately, Concern found a way to create these wells without the use of mechanized drills. They decided to gather people of the community and have them work together to manually drill the wells. While mechanized drills rely on electricity, these drills, known as “village drills”, are built by the people. Not only is this innovation less financially burdensome, but it is also an efficient way to enable the transportation of water to remote areas.

Concern has been providing aid to Central African Republic communities since May of 2014 and has reached thousands of people so far. Humanitarian organizations such as Concern can become keys actors in finding innovations that can help poor regions. Through their work, they showed that people and societies can be brought to work together, as a community, to help improve their lives.

– Sarah Soutoul
Photo: Flickr

in Central African Republic, Water Quality, Water Sanitation /by /#permalink
November 4, 2017
04 Nov 2017

Water Quality in Tanzania: An Ongoing Battle

Water Quality in TanzaniaWater quality in Tanzania has been a struggle for the last several decades, despite government aims to address the issue head-on.

In 1971, the Tanzanian government established a Rural Water Supply Program in response to a desperate need for water in the poorest areas of the country. However, it was largely unsuccessful. The program was followed by the implementation of the National Water Policy in 1991, which also proved to be ineffective.

By 2003, the World Bank intervened in Tanzania’s national water crisis, threatening to take away funding and aid if the country did not privatize its water sources. Unfortunately, this only worsened the country’s water crisis. Since then, the water quality in Tanzania remains poor despite the government claiming that access to adequate water is a basic human right.

Currently, 23 million people in Tanzania do not have access to clean water. Due to limited access locally, women and children typically spend several hours a day collecting water. Often, women face violence in their attempt to travel long distances to find water.

Several other issues are faced by the local population in relation to water. The low quality of water means that citizens continue to be plagued with waterborne illnesses.  Only 15 percent of the population has access to toilets, contributing to health complications and diseases as well.

In spite of this, some policy implementations by the World Bank have proven to be somewhat successful in the last decade. The Water Sector Development Program has connected customers in urban areas to water supplies, built 539 new water points and provided 2.7 million urban residents with clean and safe drinking water by June 2014. Despite this, the most disenfranchised places in the country continue to struggle.

Organizations such as Water Aid are trying to combat the low water quality in Tanzania. Means of doing so include the use of moderately priced technologies that can have sustainable and long-term benefits.

For example, pumps often solve the issue of emptying latrines in slums. Similarly, mapping technology has the ability to record the location and condition of water areas throughout the country.

Water Aid continues to seek improvements to water quality in Tanzania. Currently, the organization is inviting drilling contractors to submit bids for a geophysical survey and drilling works for a Community Supply Scheme in Arusha, Tanzania.

– Melanie Snyder

Photo: Flickr

in Tanzania, Water Quality /by /#permalink
September 21, 2017
21 Sep 2017

UNICEF Declares Children Rights to Clean Water

Clean WaterEach year, 289,000 children under the age of five die due to diseases caused by poor water quality and sanitation. This means that one child dies every two minutes and 800 children die per day because they do not have access to clean water or proper sanitation.

On August 29, UNICEF made a statement that declared that access to clean water is a right – not a privilege – and that in countries facing conflict or instability, clean water must be made a priority. The lack of clean water and sanitation is particularly alarming in areas that are in the middle of conflicts; more than 180 million people in crisis-ridden areas do not have access to clean drinking water.

To ensure that children are given their rights to clean water and sanitation, UNICEF has developed an initiative called WASH, which stands for water, sanitation and hygiene. Their goal is to achieve universal access to sanitation, hygiene and safe drinking water by 2030. Through a team that works in more than 100 countries, UNICEF has been able to provide close to 14 million people with clean water and more than 11 million with toilets.

UNICEF is not the only group working to improve access to clean water and sanitation. Pure Water for the World is a nonprofit organization that works closely with underserved communities in Central America and the Caribbean, which gives residents the resources and knowledge to be involved in water projects in their communities. In their 18 years of existence, they have reached more than 750,000 people in Haiti and Central America with solutions to water, sanitation and hygiene problems. Pure Water for the World seeks local and international volunteers and donations to keep the organization running.

Water for Good specifically targets the Central African Republic in its efforts to increase access to clean water and sanitation. They use local businesses for supplies and resources to start sustainable water programs, with over 90 percent of them being functional long after Water for Good has done their part.

Charity: Water is another nonprofit organization that provides clean water to struggling populations. They rely on private donors to fund their operation costs, so all of the money donated to Charity: Water goes directly into funding water projects. The company also follows up each water project with a detailed report of its results and locations, so donors can know exactly where their money has gone.
All of these nonprofits are working toward UNICEF’s ultimate goal – to have worldwide equal access to clean water, sanitation and hygiene for children – which is, as UNICEF states, not a privilege, but a right.

– Téa Franco

Photo: Flickr

in Global Poverty, Hygiene, Sustainability, UNICEF, Water /by /#permalink
July 8, 2017
08 Jul 2017

How to Provide Access to Clean Water In Innovative Ways


One in nine people worldwide have little access to clean water, and, in developing countries, 80 percent of illnesses stem from unclean water and lack of sanitation. Water is the most integral component required to sustain human life, and in 2010, the United Nations General Assembly recognized clean drinking water and sanitation as an essential human right. Here are five innovative new ways organizations and people are working on the problem of how to provide access to clean water throughout the world:

The OmniProcessor
Invented by Peter Janicki and his team at Janicki BioEnergy, the OmniProcessor is a machine that can convert 14 tons of sewage into water and electricity. The OmniProcessor can have an enormous impact on the two billion people on the planet who cannot properly dispose of waste. This waste eventually makes its way into water sources, which contaminates it and can spread diseases such as cholera and dysentery. The OmniProcessor solves both problems with one machine. Bill Gates, whose foundation gave Janicki a grant to research the OmniProcessor once stated, “If you can get thousands of these things out there, then you have ensured the people will grow up healthily.”

The SaTo Pan
This innovative toilet, supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, is an alternative to open defecation, and a game-changer when looking at the problem of how to provide access to clean water. The toilet is made of plastic and thus is much more affordable that other restroom alternatives.  The toilet works by closing off the pit latrine from the open air and reducing the amount of water needed to flush waste. This simple but inventive SaTo pan (the name is derived from “Safe Toilet”) prevents water from being contaminated by waste left behind by open defecation and is a sure step in the journey to provide clean water access to all.

SODIS
SODIS (Solar Water Disinfection) is a method ideal for purifying water in developing countries. All one has to do is take a clear plastic bottle, fill it with clear water and set it out in the sun for six hours or more. The UV rays in the sunlight hitting the bottles will kill viruses, bacteria and parasites that may contaminate the water, making it clean and safe to drink. SODIS is an easy, safe and inexpensive method which makes it ideal for the world’s poor.

Microloans
Another solution for the problem of how to provide access to clean water is to empower the people searching for access. Microloans are a way of doing just this, providing small loans to people who otherwise would not be approved for loans at all. According to a study done by A. M. Muazam Husain, “microcredit loans provided to women in Bangladesh increased the presence of latrines in their households from nine to 26 percent over three years.” When given the opportunity, people without clean water and proper sanitation, especially women in families with children to look after, actively seek it out.  This kind of change is sustainable because it teaches individuals to solve their problems without the help of outsiders.

The Water Project
The Water Project is an innovative non-profit that does on-the-ground work in sub-Saharan Africa to build wells, dams and systems to catch rainwater. They collaborate with in-country teams to ensure that the services they are providing are needed and sustainable.  They also regularly check in on projects they have sponsored to ensure they are going well. Anyone can contribute to the water project simply by raising awareness, fundraising or sponsoring an entire project. These sorts of organizations are an integral part of broadening access to clean water in the developing world.

In the past ten years, the world has made leaps and bounds in how to provide access to safe drinking water and sanitation. Moreover, with more investment in research, an increase in aid to nonprofit organizations and a continued commitment to finding innovative solutions to the lack of water, access to clean water is sure to become a certainty for every single person in the world.

– Adesuwa Agbonile

Photo: Flickr

in Developing Countries, Global Poverty, Water, Water Management /by /#permalink
May 31, 2017
31 May 2017

Water Quality in Liberia and Access to Clean Water


For more than  a decade, the water quality in Liberia has been a steady issue. In 2016, only 25 percent of the population had access to clean water. Currently, of the 4.5 million people populating the country, more than one million are unable to access safe drinking water.

According to World Bank, the water quality in Liberia has been an issue ever since the country’s second civil war ended in 2003. For nearly 14 years, numerous Liberian citizens have been in vital need of access to clean water, but have failed to receive the assistance necessary to remedy the situation.

Unfortunately, many individuals living in Liberia have suffered from prevalent health issues due to the unsafe water conditions. In addition, many citizens are being forced to pay extra expenses daily so that they can buy clean water rather than rely on contaminated wells. In an article by FrontPageAfrica (FPA), a concerned citizen complained about the crippling effect of financial expenditures that she has been forced to make in order to buy clean water to do her laundry.

Research by WaterAid, an international charity dedicated to the access of clean water, shows that fewer than 20 percent of Liberians have access to sanitary toilets and more than 500 Liberian children die each year from diarrhea caused by unsanitary conditions. Additionally, 3.5 million people within the country have inadequate access to proper sanitation.

Chuchu Kordor Selma, WaterAid’s team leader in Liberia, voiced her concern over this growing issue by inferring that the number one most important way to satisfactorily address the quality of water in Liberia is by sufficiently investing in the government sector. Furthermore, WaterAid has been steadily working throughout the last year to produce increased access to clean water and proper sanitary conditions within the country. Due to the organization’s unfailing persistence, more than 12,000 Liberians have been provided with safe water and more than 10,000 have been provided with improved sanitary conditions.

– Lael Pierce

Photo: Flickr

in Africa, Global Poverty, Water, Water Management, World Bank /by /#permalink
December 21, 2016
21 Dec 2016

SE200 Community Chlorine Maker: Clean Water in Five Minutes

SE200 Community Chlorine Maker: Clean Water in 5 Minutes
Clean water is unavailable to many people around the world. According to Water.org, 663 million people do not have access to safe drinking water.

To help remedy this issue, the SE200 Community Chlorine Maker is using electricity and salt to provide clean drinking water to people in need. By producing accurate amounts of chlorine, the battery powered device is able to clean 200 liters of water in five minutes. Chlorine kills an array of microbes and sanitizes water thoroughly. However, chlorine is not always available in remote and impoverished areas.

The Chlorine Maker is simple to use. Water is mixed with salt and poured into a brine bottle. Then the solution is added to the chlorine maker. The device is attached to either a 12V battery or wall plug. After the start button is pushed the liquid begins to bubble. This indicates that electrolysis is occurring. The chemical reaction creates bleach.

Originally this technology was developed by the military but the Mountain Safety Research (MSR) in collaboration with PATH, an international health organization, modified it so anyone can easily use it directly at water sources.

Compared to other chlorine generators, the SE200 Community Chlorine Maker is relatively inexpensive and easy to use. Most importantly, it is able to calculate the correct amount of chlorine needed each time it is used. The SE200 Community Chlorine Maker has been tested in different countries such as Kenya and Ghana. It was officially put on the market in May of this year. It currently costs $200.

MSR and PATH in partnership with World Vision and Operation Blessing want to bring the Chlorine Maker to communities in need of clean water at no cost to them. MSR launched an Indiegogo campaign to raise $50,000 in order to send a minimum of 2,500 devices to communities around the world by the end of 2017. These devices will provide safe drinking water for approximately 500,000 people.

In late November, MSR reached their $50,000 goal and now hopes to reach $60,000. They are currently at $59,500 with 645 backers. With their goals met, the SE200 Community Chlorine Maker will improve the lives of many.

– Karla Umanzor

Photo: Flickr

in Developing Countries, Global Poverty, Technology, Water /by /#permalink
December 20, 2016
20 Dec 2016

Access to Clean Water and Sanitation Services in Burundi

Access to Clean Water and Sanitation Services in Burundi
In 2015, Burundi’s gross domestic product (GDP) per capita was the lowest in the world at 276 U.S. dollars, and its population density was one of the highest at 435 people per square kilometer of land area, according to The World Bank. As a result, everyday things such as access to clean water and sanitation services in Burundi can be a struggle for the people who live there.

Burundi is located in the Great Lakes Region of East Africa and has been called “the Heart of Africa” because of its geographic shape and location. Although landlocked, the country’s fresh water sources are plentiful. Nearly the entire western border of Burundi lies on the shores of Lake Tanganyika, and most of its northern side is bordered by the Kanyaru River. Other bodies of water there include the Malagarasi, Rusize and Ruvubu Rivers; and Cohaha and Rwero Lakes.

A 2010 Water and Sanitation Profile on Burundi from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) reported that their renewable internal freshwater availability was equal to just under 330,000 gallons per person every year. With a number as large as this, how is it possible that access to clean water and sanitation services in Burundi is a struggle?

 

The Problems Facing Access to Clean Water and Sanitation Services in Burundi

 

Since 1962, four wars have taken place in Burundi, the results of which have directly impacted their water sector infrastructure. “Burundi’s water supply and sanitation (WSS), sector endured years of destruction brought on by sabotage and neglect during the civil war and its aftermath […] several kilometers of water pipes, connections and 80 percent of installed meters were destroyed,” according to USAID. This caused many people to use untreated water, which led to waterborne diseases, triggering higher mortality rates.

In 2000, world leaders adopted the U.N. Millennium Declaration along with seven goals, known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDG), which had targets for addressing extreme poverty. Goal number 7, target 10, was to “halve, by 2015, the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe water and basic sanitation.” USAID reported that in 2008, 72 percent of urban and rural populations in Burundi had access to drinking water, and 46 percent had access to sanitation services. There was significant improvement seen in the availability of sanitation services, with 1.2 million people gaining access since 1990.

Although Burundi was likely to meet the MDG, targeting sustainable access to drinking water, it was not expected to reach the “water and sanitation services in Burundi” target. However, the Government of Burundi was working to improve their WSS sector by creating new policies to increase coverage throughout the country, according to the USAID. Past and current donors contributing to the WSS sector include the African Development Bank (AfDB), the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) and The World Bank.

– Kristin Westad

Photo: Flickr

in Burundi, Global Poverty, Sanitation, Water /by /#permalink
November 11, 2016
11 Nov 2016

SunSaluter: Energy, Water and Jobs Rolled Into One

SunSaluter: Energy, Water and Jobs Rolled Into One
There are upward of 780 million people in the world who do not have access to clean water. On top of this, an estimated 1.2 billion people lack access to electricity — that is nearly 17 percent of the world’s population. Individuals living under such circumstances suffer chronic exposure to waterborne illnesses, and hundreds of millions more must walk hours each day to collect potable water.

SunSaluter, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to improving energy and water access in the developing world, aims to remedy these issues in a simple and affordable way.

The goal of SunSaluter is to make energy and water more accessible through one simple device. The SunSaluter device itself uses gravity and water, rotating a solar panel throughout the day. The device generates 30 percent more electricity, is 30 times cheaper and is far more durable than motorized solar trackers.

The SunSaluter has been deployed in 16 countries and has impacted nearly 8,000 people worldwide. By boosting solar panel efficiency by 30 percent, fewer solar panels are needed and the overall system costs are reduced by 10-20 percent. This lowering of cost alone has helped the impoverished families eliminate the use of kerosene gas.

How does it work? The SunSaluter enables solar panels to produce energy more consistently through the day, beginning earlier in the morning and lasting later at night. This is critical for rural families who often wake early in the day. It helps decrease the need for batteries to store energy that is usually produced mostly around high noon.

The SunSaluter also contains a water purifier within its system. Each day the device is capable of producing four liters of clean drinking water. By combining both energy and water collection into one simple device, the SunSaluter kills two birds with one stone. It improves consistent usage of the purifier as well, which tends to be the biggest hurdle to overcome for clean water programs.

Consequently, SunSaluter is not just working to help with the lack of energy and water in the developing world. “Our goal is to provide entrepreneurial opportunities for individuals in underdeveloped countries,” Eden Full told Business Insider in a recent interview. “We give them guidance, mentorship, and some funding, and the idea is to spread this technology.”

Currently, the company’s core manufacturing operations are in India. It is looking to move into Malawi as well. SunSaluter and its impact on the developing world have only just begun!

– Keaton McCalla

Photo: Flickr

in Developing Countries, Energy and Electricity, Energy Consumption, Global Poverty, Nonprofit Organizations and NGOs /by /#permalink

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