The problem
Where proper sanitation facilities are lacking, waterborne diseases, including typhoid, cholera and dysentery, can spread rapidly. Untreated excreta carrying diseasebearing organisms wash or leach into freshwater sources, contaminating local drinking water.

• Approximately 1 billion people worldwide have no access to safe drinking water. • Unsafe drinking water is the biggest killer of children under the age of 5 – 1.8 million children die every year – that’s 5000 every day. • 50% of hospital beds worldwide are taken up by those suffering from water-borne diseases.

Lack of access to clean water means that, for most of the world, water must be boiled before drinking. With rapidly diminishing natural resources, the environmental and human impact of this activity is significant - consuming huge quantities of energy, resources and time.

Technologies and chemicals available to western cultures to purify water are often not transferable or culturally appropriate to the poor communities in the developing World.