10 Simple life-saving methods for water purification (Part 2)
We know that you are thirsty for more, so here are 5 more low-cost water treatment methods that will prove useful in rural areas.
If you’ve read any of our blogs, you’ll notice we constantly reiterate how important and essential clean water is. But today, for a change, we’re focusing on sanitation.
We’re talking about this dirty topic because significance of sanitation has been exponentially heightening due to the relentless and compounding force of increased natural disasters.
For 95 million people across the globe, natural disasters cause significant fear and loss each year through the sheer destruction and disruption of lives and their communities.
The rapid rise in recorded natural disasters highlights its scale of destruction as infrastructures, the environment and ultimately the population’s health are repeatedly affected. Communities with effective sanitation become jeopardized as sanitation systems are threatened by floods, drought and rising sea levels. In addition, natural disasters play a role in aggravating the already ongoing and long-term issue of improper sanitation for populations that are located in underserved regions.
In efforts to maintain good hygiene and to reduce the spread of communicable diseases, affected populations have to rely on rapid and high quality humanitarian responses for the provision of safe water and basic sanitation facilities, especially in low-income countries. The fight for survival is far more challenging in low-income countries as they face greater negative repercussions and require a longer period of time to recover.
Image from Downtoearth.org.in
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Food, water, shelter, and non-food items such as clothing, blankets, and bedding are generally the more publicised requests for public humanitarian aid. Undeniably, the urgency for sanitation facilities is not a widely discussed topic. |
This can expose individuals to excreta-related disease due to the absence of important barriers needed to protect them from direct and indirect faecal-oral routes of disease transmission. The lack of proper sanitation facilities and safely managed water supplies encourages contamination and the vast spread of water-related infectious diseases, known as an outbreak. To learn more about routes of faecal disease transmission and protective barriers, read our blog here.
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Image from Water1st.org
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However, environmental challenges such as difficult ground composition (rocky, sandy surfaces etc.); elevated water table or flooding; insufficient water; or the shortage of space may make the use of a pit latrine ineffective.
Other viable options for sanitation following a disaster are:
These options may come with their own challenges however; while a urine diverting toilet doesn’t require water usage, it may be difficult to source after a large scale disaster. An elevated latrine is ideal if the groundwater table is too high for a standard pit latrine to be dug, but the composition of the ground may not allow for stable construction. A trench latrine can be created on a larger scale with fewer required resources, however it may be susceptible to overflowing or flooding that could cause dangerous contamination to its nearby users. Peepoo bags are an innovative single-use bag that self-sanitises to prevent contamination once enclosed. They are biodegradable and can be used in the privacy of one’s own shelter or a simple toilet tent, however, there is possibility of contamination if the Peepoo bag is used improperly and they must be stored or buried after use, which space may not allow for.
Next, the purpose of excreta management is to also provide the communities with safe and secure access to adequate, appropriate and acceptable toilets at all times. Toilets are considered adequate, appropriate and acceptable if they fulfill the following criteria:
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This emphasises the need to establish toilets for vulnerable groups (including women and girls, boys, older individuals and others with specific protection concerns) that can offer protection from external threats while allowing them to maintain good personal hygiene during the day and night. Undeniably, everyone deserves the right to feel safe and secure while using the toilet. |
Did you know?In India, when women have no choice but to defecate in open fields, they are vulnerable to harassment, rape, kidnapping and wild animal attacks. In an effort to protect them from such threats, the ‘No Toilet, No Bride’ campaign was launched in 2005 to motivate women to demand a private latrine from their male suitors before agreeing to the marriage. Ultimately the aim is for women to abandon open defecation and protect themselves.
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Having easy access to safe and clean water is of paramount importance, especially in disaster settings where the procurement of safe water is extremely difficult.
With proper sanitation products such as soap (or an alternative such as ash), toilet paper or other anal cleansing equipment, individuals are able to practice good personal hygiene. Handwashing after using sanitation facilities, before and after changing a diaper, and again before coming in contact with food creates protective barriers, prevents food contamination and ultimately, protects individuals and those around them from excreta-related diseases.
If vulnerable communities lack easy access to safe water, they are forced to either use unsafe water or travel a greater distance to collect it.
Image from Who.int
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If the total amount of time required to obtain clean water exceeds 30 minutes, the amount of water they collect will gradually reduce.
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WASH related diseases are easily preventable through the use of proper hygiene practices. Following a standardised approach to educate on hygiene can be ineffective and different approaches largely depend on the social context of each unique community. Additionally, education is not enough if the resources, such as soap and clean water, are not available.
Excreta management, clean water provision and hygiene promotion are an important trifecta that require each other to be effective on the whole.
We hope that this blog provides a clearer understanding of the minimum standards that should be adhered to by humanitarian groups and the affected populations in disaster settings. Vulnerable communities will be better protected from life-threatening diseases when following and adopting these guidelines, ultimately aiding them in the process of recovery. |
Image from Wateraid.org
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We know that you are thirsty for more, so here are 5 more low-cost water treatment methods that will prove useful in rural areas.
When disaster strikes, basic human necessities such as clean water must be secured to prevent further loss of life. Read about how the first responders and humanitarian organisations globally carry out water, sanitation and hygiene (WaSH) programmes!
In this post, we share how Internet of Things (IoT) technology offers a more efficient and reliable water system all by leveraging internet access!