Fact Sheet: Safe Water System
Purpose of Initiative
The Safe Water System (SWS) is an international partnership
that reduces diarrheal diseases in children under 5 years of age and other
vulnerable populations through the provision of locally produced water disinfectant
and safe water storage containers, and by advocating behavior change techniques
that result in improved hygiene. The SWS uses local resources, including public-private
partnerships with strong civil society involvement, and employs community
mobilization and social marketing approaches.
The SWS is also used as an ?entry point? into households
for the promotion and implementation of other interventions. Alternative SWS
applications include improving street vendor hygiene in beverage preparation,
prevention
of contamination of fluids used in re-hydrating cholera victims, and prevention
of diarrheal infections in persons with HIV/AIDS.
Partners
Governments: Ministries of Health in Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, Guatemala, Zambia, Madagascar, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Malawi, Côte d'Ivoire, India, Laos, Nepal, Afghanistan, and Burkina Faso, as well as the international development agencies in Japan and the United States.
International Organizations: UNICEF, WHO, World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank.
Civil Society: Population Services International, CARE, Project Concern International, Plan International, Rotary International, Action Contre la Faim, Catholic Relief Services, Andean Rural Health Care, Society for Women with AIDS in Kenya, The AIDS Support Organization (Uganda), Environment and Public Health Organization (Nepal).
Private Sector: Proctor and Gamble Company,
Equipment and Systems Engineering, Inc. (USA), Exceltec International Corp.
(USA), Chlorine Chemistry Council (USA), Arch Chemicals (USA), Jet Chemicals,
Ltd. (Kenya), SFOI (Madagascar), Sulforwanda Industries (Rwanda), Max Chemicals
(India), Triveni Plastics (India), Nampak (South Africa), Magric Uganda, Ltd.,
Tarmal Industries, Ltd. (Tanzania), Simba Plastics Co., Ltd. (Tanzania), Kleemkem,
Ltd. (Malawi), Enterprise Plastics (Malawi), Plamat Cia. (Bolivia).
Academic/Research Institutions: Emory University School of Public Health, University of North Carolina School of Public Health, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Medical University of South Carolina, Tropical Institute of Community Health (Kenya), Tropical Diseases Research Centre (Zambia), Centro Nacional de Enfermedades Tropicales (Bolivia), Instituto Nacional de Laboratorios de Salud (Bolivia), University of Zambia, Centre National de Recherches sur l?Environnement (Madagascar).
Partnership Targets
To initiate or expand SWS projects in a minimum of twenty countries through partnerships with PSI, UNICEF, WHO, Emory University and other institutions.
Progress Toward Targets
Beginning in 1997, SWS projects have been initiated in Latin America and the Caribbean (Bolivia, Ecuador, Haiti, and Peru), Africa (Burkina Faso, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia), and Asia (India, Laos, Nepal, and Pakistan). Field trials in these three continents have shown a reduction of risk of diarrhea from 30-85 percent following the implementation of SWS projects. The SWS has been used as an emergency response tool for earthquakes and flooding in Bolivia; cholera epidemics in Madagascar and Zambia; and flooding in Kenya and Malawi. CDC has joined with WHO, PSI, UNICEF, NGOs, and Ministries in India, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Myanmar to begin a regional SWS initiative that could become a model for regional expansion in other parts of the world. A Network to Promote Safe Household Water Treatment and Storage has been established through a multi-sector partnership of over 30 organizations, with a secretariat based at the WHO Water, Sanitation, and Health Program. In 2004, as a result of the robust partnership between civil society and the public and private sectors, plans are in place for the Safe Water System to be implemented in nine new countries, including Nigeria, Haiti, Mozambique, Indonesia, Myanmar, Burundi, Bangladesh, Cote d?Ivoire, and Uzbekistan.
Next Steps
To implement the Safe Water System projects in Nigeria, Haiti, Indonesia, Mozambique, Myanmar, Burundi, Bangladesh, Uzbekistan, and Cote d?Ivoire.
Resources
Ministries of Health and Water have provided significant
in-kind resources and promoted the Safe Water System and hand hygiene in existing
health programs. US government contributions have included financial support
(from USAID and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and technical
support (from the CDC and Prevention). Civil society
groups and international organizations have also provided financial support
to projects in a number of countries.
US Government Primary Points of Contact
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Robert Quick, MD, MPH
Telephone: 404/639-2208
E-mail: rquick@cdc.gov
USAID
John Borrazzo, Ph.D.
Telephone: 202/712-4816
E-mail: jborrazzo@usaid.gov
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