PATH – Commercialization Toolkit
For the past five years, PATH’s Safe Water Project has worked to identify, evaluate, adapt, and develop appropriate products and strategies that enable social enterprises to sustainably produce, distribute, and support household water treatment and safe storage products for low- and middle-income populations. As a component of this program, we have worked extensively with developing country small- and medium-sized enterprises and social organizations (such as local nongovernmental organizations or NGOs) to build commercial capacity and create, test, and refine social business models that can have a meaningful impact on important health issues.
Through illustrative examples and case studies, the Commercialization Toolkit illustrates how PATH has helped partners through the commercialization process in several developing countries. It is organized into eight modules, each covering a different commercial discipline or approach. It is a living toolkit, in the sense that PATH and partners will continue to add and refine the tools and approaches contained within, and it is not meant to be exhaustive.
The toolkit modules include: Landscape, Product and service, Operations, Key opinion leaders, Sales, Marketing, Reporting, and Financing. Modules will be expanded and new ones will be added as PATH extends our work into new countries and health areas, such as sanitation and air quality.
BMC Public Health 2012, 12:220
Diarrhea incidence in low- and middle-income countries in 1990 and 2010: a systematic review
Christa L Fischer Walker, et al.
Background – Diarrhea is recognized as a leading cause of morbidity and mortality among children under 5 years of age in low- and middle-income countries yet updated estimates of diarrhea incidence by age for these countries are greatly needed. We conducted a systematic literature review to identify cohort studies that sought to quantify diarrhea incidence among any age group of children 0-59 mo of age.
Methods – We used the Expectation-Maximization algorithm as a part of a two-stage regression model to handle diverse age data and overall incidence rate variation by study to generate country specific incidence rates for low- and middle-income countries for 1990 and 2010. We then calculated regional incidence rates and uncertainty ranges using the bootstrap method, and estimated the total number of episodes for children 0-59 mo of age in 1990 and 2010.
Results – We estimate that incidence has declined from 3.4 episodes/child year in 1990 to 2.9 episodes/child year in 2010. As was the case previously, incidence rates are highest among infants 6-11 mo of age; 4.5 episodes/child year in 2010. Among these 139 countries there were nearly 1.9 billion episodes of childhood diarrhea in 1990 and nearly 1.7 billion episodes in 2010.
Conclusions – Although our results indicate that diarrhea incidence rates may be declining slightly, the total burden on the health of each child due to multiple episodes per year is tremendous and additional funds are needed to improve both prevention and treatment practices in low- and middle-income countries.
Pakistan Journal of Nutrition 11 (2): 150-153, 2012
An Assessment of Relationship Between Arsenic in Drinking Water, Health Status and Intellectual Functioning of Children in District Kasur
Saqlain Abbas, et al.
In this study determination of arsenic (As) contamination in the drinking water and urine of children along with its effect on their health status and intellectual functioning was assessed. The study was carried out in order to determine any correlation between intake of arsenic and intellectual functioning level of the children. Raven Standard Progressive Matrices (RPM) was administered on children of (8-15) years of age to assess their intellectual functioning and their health status was checked by measuring their height and weight. Water and urine sample were studied in both experimental and control group. In experimental area the arsenic level was above the World Health Organization (WHO) permissible value which was compared with the control area having arsenic level below WHO permissible value in both water and urine. An average 45% of arsenic level in drinking water samples was above WHO permissible value (10 µg/L).
Considering urinary arsenic as a biomarker of exposure to arsenic through drinking water, it was found that an average of 50% of children of the experimental group were found to have arsenic in their urine ranging from a concentration of 0.01-0.0119 µg/L. Conclusively, this study showed that the intellectual functioning level of children drinking arsenic contaminated water was significantly lower as compared to those, drinking arsenic-free water.
Water 2012, 4(1), 123-134; doi:10.3390/w4010123
Improving Water Supply Systems for Domestic Uses in Urban Togo: The Case of a Suburb in Lomé
Laurent Ahiablame, et al.
The rapid urbanization facing developing countries is increasing pressure on public institutions to provide adequate supplies of clean water to populations. In most developing countries, the general public is not involved in strategies and policies regarding enhancement, conservation, and management of water supply systems. To assist governments and decision makers in providing potable water to meet the increasing demand due to the rapid urbanization, this study sought to characterize existing water supply systems and obtain public opinion for identifying a community water supply system model for households in a residential neighborhood in Lomé, Togo.
Existing water supply systems in the study area consist of bucket-drawn water wells, mini water tower systems, rainwater harvesting, and public piped water. Daily domestic water consumption in the study area compared well with findings on water uses per capita from Sub-Saharan Africa, but was well below daily water usage in developed nations. Based on the surveys, participants thought highly of a large scale community water tower and expressed interest in maintaining it. Even though people rely on water sources deemed convenient for drinking, they also reported limited confidence in the quality of these sources.
Environ. Sci. Technol., Apr 30, 2012
Fecal Contamination and Diarrheal Pathogens on Surfaces and in Soils among Tanzanian Households with and without Improved Sanitation
Amy J. Pickering, et al.
Little is known about the extent or pattern of environmental fecal contamination among households using low-cost, on-site sanitation facilities, or what role environmental contamination plays in the transmission of diarrheal disease. A microbial survey of fecal contamination and selected diarrheal pathogens in soil (n = 200), surface (n = 120), and produce samples (n = 24) was conducted in peri-urban Bagamoyo, Tanzania, among 20 households using private pit latrines. All samples were analyzed for E. coli and enterococci. A subset was analyzed for enterovirus, rotavirus, norovirus GI, norovirus GII, diarrheagenic E. coli, and general and human-specific Bacteroidales fecal markers using molecular methods.
Soil collected from the house floor had significantly higher concentrations of E. coli and enterococci than soil collected from the latrine floor. There was no significant difference in fecal indicator bacteria levels between households using pit latrines with a concrete slab (improved sanitation) versus those without a slab. These findings imply that the presence of a concrete slab does not affect the level of fecal contamination in the household environment in this setting. Human Bacteroidales, pathogenic E. coli, enterovirus, and rotavirus genes were detected in soil samples, suggesting that soil should be given more attention as a transmission pathway of diarrheal illness in low-income countries.
Study of sales of Kenyan water filters shows promise, 2012.
PATH.
PATH partners with local agency to explore new way to offer residents water filters. PATH partnered with the Safe Water and AIDS Project (SWAP) to market water filters in ten districts of Nyanza Province. SWAP proved a strong partner due to their existing presence utilizing a successful basket-of-goods model to sell health-related items such as soap, water purification tablets, and condoms to families in the region. PATH and SWAP selected a ceramic water filter made by Chujio Ceramics, a Kenyan manufacturer based in Nairobi, for distribution in the pilot study.
The ceramic filter itself has great potential. It appears to be a highly desirable product for low-income households and has proven to be a valuable addition to SWAP’s fast-moving basket-of-goods selling model.
Microfinancing boosts uptake of water filters, 2012.
PATH
PATH partners with Indian household water treatment and safe storage manufacturer and microfinance organization to expand use of water filters that can help reduce diarrheal disease. The pilot was able to create demand for filters in a market where that had not previously existed—an important step in encouraging safe water practices. And the microfinance model allowed the purchase of an effective water filter by families who previously could not afford one.
Measuring clay property variation and effects on ceramic pot filter performance, 2012.
Hester, Joshua. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering.
Advisor: Susan Murcott.
Pure Home Water (PHW) is a non-profit organization in Ghana whose mission is to provide safe drinking water to Ghana’s Northern Region – the poorest part of the country. Originally a distributor of ceramic pot filters (CPFs) manufactured in Accra, PHW began construction of a new factory outside of Tamale in late 2009 when it was recognized that importing filters from Accra was too inefficient to meet the demands for household water treatment and safe storage. One aspect of CPF manufacturing that has a significant impact on the quality of the finished product is the clay “recipe.”
In 2010, Reed Miller and Travis Watters conducted research to determine the optimal ratio of combustible material to clay that would yield filters with suitable flow rates, water quality, and strength. However, until 2011, limited research was done on the clay itself, and the relationship between clay properties and PHW filter performance was largely unexplored. Clay has been harvested from a site in Gbalahi, 1 mile away from the PHW factory. Since PHW’s acquisition of a second clay source in Wayamba, it has become important to determine to what extent the clays from the two sites are different, as well as which clay properties have the largest impact on quality filter production.
To answer these questions, the author measured the plasticity and particle size distribution of 12 clay samples collected from each site. Filters were made from each sample and their performance evaluated based on removal of turbidity, coliform, and E. coli. Statistical analyses were conducted to determine the significance of the observed differences between and relationships among the measured parameters. The Gbalahi clay was found to be more plastic and have a higher clay content (less sand and silt), and filters made from this clay had lower flow rates and better turbidity removal.
Handbook: Sustainable Decentralized Water Treatment for Rural and Developing Communities Using Gasifier Biochar, 2012.
Contamination of drinking water sources by synthetic organic compounds (SOCs – e.g. pesticides, pharmaceuticals, fuel compounds, etc.) is a growing worldwide problem. Many of these chemicals bio-accumulate in the human body and cause cancer, birth defects and diseases of the reproductive system, and disrupt endocrine and neurological systems. However, few low-cost, sustainable and appropriate treatment technologies are available to rural and developing communities for SOC removal. Moreover, SOCs are rarely or not-at-all addressed in the majority of safe drinking water programs implemented by major international development NGOs and government agencies, university research programs, philanthropic organizations, non-profits, faith-based charities, etc.
In advanced centralized water treatment systems, adsorption by activated carbon (AC) is considered the best available technology for the removal of SOCs. However, the manufacture of AC is a sophisticated (and often proprietary) industrial process and cannot be replicated at the location and scale of rural and developing communities. Under these circumstances, charcoals produced by traditional kiln systems may serve as an effective, low-cost local surrogate for commercial AC as they exhibit similar molecular-scale properties (e.g. porosity and internal surface area, surface reactive sites). In fact, water filtration using charcoal is an ancient practice that continues today in non-industrialized regions around the world, though it has not yet been rigorously demonstrated for removal of modern industrial pollutants.
Journal of Sustainable Development; Vol. 5, No. 6; May 2012
Concentrated Solar Thermal (CST) Systemfor Fuelwood Replacement and Household Water Sanitation in Developing Countries
Olutoye P. Akinjiola1 & Uthamalingam Balu Balachandran2
1 Psage Research, LLC, USA
2 Energy Systems Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, USA
Correspondence: Uthamalingam (Balu) Balachandran, Energy Systems Division, Argonne National Laboratory,
Argonne, IL 60439, USA. Tel: 630-252-4250. E-mail: balu@anl.gov
Concentrated Solar Thermal (CST) is a proven renewable energy technology that harnesses solar irradiation in its most primitive form. This technology with roots in ancient history is growing at a fast pace in recent times. Developing countries could use CST to solve fundamental human-needs challenges, such as for the substitution of fuelwood and the treatment of water for household use.
This paper proposes a conceptual design for a standardized modular CST for these applications in developing countries. A modular-designed parabolic CST with an aperture area of 7.5 m2 is adequate to provide enough solar thermal energy to replace the fuelwood need (5 tons/yr) or to pasteurize the minimum daily water requirement (2500 liters) for a household. Critical parameters of the CST are discussed and an affordable solid thermal storage is recommended to be used as a backup when sunlight is unavailable. A funding program that includes in-country resources and external funding will be needed to sustain the development and wide spread adaptation of this technology.
