A billion people worldwide lack access to an improved drinking water supply,
4 billion cases of diarrhea occur annually of which 88 percent can be attributed to unsafe water and inadequate sanitation, and 1.8 million people, of which most are children under age 5, die each year from diarrheal disease. And yet, the World Health Organization estimates that 94 percent
of diarrheal cases
are preventable.


 

 

 

 

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WiRED Program Addresses Basic Need for Clean Water
by Stacy Trevenon

 


BioSand Filter   

The role of prevention in assuring good health, sadly, is often overlooked. It isn't as glamorous as finding a cure for AIDS or as profitable as the cash that flows in from treatment. Having or not having clean water means the difference between life and death in vulnerable populations the world over. That's a situation WiRED International doesn't consider acceptable—especially when water-borne illness is preventable.

 

Many of the communities in regions WiRED serves are facing the threats of polluted water, so we recently embarked on a training program designed to help break the link between deadly illnesses such as diarrhea and cholera and the lack of clean water.

 

Many dedicated organizations worldwide are undertaking the task of providing clean-water tools in developing areas. WiRED is complementing these efforts by providing a training program for community education on water treatment and disease prevention. An initial clean water program focuses on two key areas:

  • Biosand filters, low-cost water treatments made with local materials, and
  • Oral rehydration therapy (ORT), a means of treating water so that it can be properly absorbed by the system.

Simply put, biosand filters are made with layers of gravel and sand, topped by a diffuser plate, through which contaminated water is passed in a slow filtration process. While this process does not address toxic chemicals in the water, it does remove 90 to 95 percent of organic contaminants such as bacteria, protozoa, and worms. The result is water that is clean, odor-free and suitable for hygiene, sanitation—or drinking.

 

WiRED has developed an introductory training program to show readers in simple and clear terms how a biosand filter works. The interactive computer module describes the anatomy of a biosand filter, describes the principles behind its operation and includes printable blueprints for building one.

 

Oral Rehydration Therapy (ORT) was developed and enhanced by, among others, WiRED board member Dr. Robert Northrup , who at the time was working with infectious disease specialists at the ICDDR,B (International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh). He is currently preparing content for training material from which WiRED editors and technicians will create an interactive module.

 

Diseases like cholera cause severe dehydration to the point of death. But simply giving water to a cholera victim does not necessarily help. Without proper electrolytes—small amounts of key salts and sugar—in the water, the body cannot absorb the fluid and rehydrate.

 

ORT involves preparation of the correct blend of salt, sugar, and water to allow a patient's body to absorb the crucial water. The solution is not expensive, does not require special medicines or chemicals, and, if properly prepared, can save millions of people from the effects of dehydration caused by diseases such as cholera.

 

Like efforts to bring clean-water technologies to developing areas, WiRED's role around ORT involves calling the public's attention to this therapy and offering basic training in ORT. This work echoes WiRED's established approach of filling a vital niche in improving community health through available, accessible, and comprehensive grassroots education.

 

WiRED's education programs feature our growing library of training modules (called CHI for Community Health Information)—designed especially for grassroots audiences—which comprise easy-to-digest interactive programs set up on the hard drives of computers. The modules include topics such as acid reflex, alcohol and substance abuse, autoimmune diseases, cervical cancer, counseling for the HIV-positive, diabetes, family planning, malaria, heart disease, maternal health, malnutrition, rabies, alternative medicine, mental health, and sexually transmitted disease. Currently, more than 100 modules are available, with another 40 underway for completion by late spring, 2011.

 

"We believe that community health begins with knowledge," said WiRED Executive Director Gary Selnow. "Giving people knowledge about healthy practices, teaching them about harmful conditions, and showing them signs and symptoms of illness and disease can go a long way to improve health and avoid or reduce the need for costly treatments."

 

Because community health begins with knowledge

 

WiRED wishes to thank the Centre for Affordable Water and Sanitation Technology (www.cawst.org) for the use of its image of a biosand filter.

 

Editing by Allison Kozicharow, layout by Brian Colombe.

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