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Where
has the Safe Water System been used?
 Pakistan
Project
Partners - CDC
- Agha
Khan University
- Procter
and Gamble Company
- HOPE
Target
Populations/Location - Low-income
families living in squatter settlements in Karachi
Project
Design - Research
project objectives:
- Determine
the impact of the SWS on diarrheal disease incidence
- Determine
which etiologic agents the SWS prevents Identify modifications necessary to adapt
SWS to Pakistan’s context
- Function
as a demonstration project to use to attract funding for broader SWS intervention
in the country.
Intervention
Elements - Locally
available, commercial sodium hypochlorite disinfectant
- The
CDC safe water storage vessel
- Community
organization
- Health
education
Project
Implementation Date Results
of Project Evaluation - An
inexpensive home-based water storage and decontamination system to improve drinking
water quality in a low-income neighborhood of Karachi was pilot tested. Forty-seven
households received a 20-liter plastic
water storage vessel with a narrow neck, lid, and high-quality spout to prevent
recontamination and a regular supply of diluted hypochlorite solution in 10 ml
single-use bottles. Household members were instructed to fill the vessel with
water, add one bottle of dilute hypochlorite, and use the water for drinking.
Twenty-fivecontrol households were recruited. Water samples were evaluated at
baseline and in unannounced follow-up visits 1,3, 6 and 10 weeks later. Baseline
drinking water samples among households who received the vessel were contaminated
with a mean 9397
cfu/100 ml of thermotolerant coliforms compared with a mean 10,990 cfu/100 ml
among controls. After intervention there was a mean 99.8% reduction in concentration
of thermotolerant coliforms in drinking water samples among the vessel households,
compared with an 8% reduction in controls. All 47 households who received the
vessel reported liking it. In a highly contaminated environment, a specifically
designed water storage container and in-home water chlorination was acceptable
to the community and markedly improved water quality.
- A
study currently in the field is evaluating the effect of the SWS on diarrhea incidence.
For
More Information
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