SWAPNO: Safe Water - Advances in purification options
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Project team: Martin Maier, Charlotte Stirn |
Financenced by: German Alliance for Global Health Research (GLOHRA) Federal Ministry for Education and Research
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In Bangladesh, groundwater is used as drinking water without further treatment. However, untreated groundwater can contain problematic contaminants. Arsenic is an extremely toxic substance that frequently occurs naturally in groundwater. Microbial contamination is also a major problem, especially if the water is stored under unhygienic conditions or if surface water is used as a source of drinking water. Water treatment solutions at household level are often not affordable for most households in Bangladesh. In addition, the loaded filter media generates toxic waste for which there are no suitable disposal systems. For this reason, filters are not considered a sustainable solution.
The SWAPNO project aims to establish a cost-effective, easy-to-use and sustainable water treatment system to remove multiple water contaminants at household level. It takes a holistic approach by considering not only drinking water but also the improvement of general hygienic conditions. To this end, it is planned to provide easy access to clean drinking and process water in the home. The second step is to investigate how these solutions affect health outcomes (e.g. diarrheal diseases). Environmental aspects such as the reusability of consumables (e.g. adsorber media) will also be investigated. This research is intended to contribute to a better understanding of the impact, acceptance and use of handwashing and filter systems for use in households in regions of South Asia with poor infrastructure, thereby improving the health situation of the people there in the long term.
The project is an interdisciplinary research project of the German Alliance for Global Health Research (GLOHRA), funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) with the project partners:
Filter system and hand-washing system, which are distributed to the households involved in the project
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Project related posters and publications:
