10 November 2009
Water borne diseases have often led to deaths among children who don't have access to safe water at school. However, the Pureit water purifier which removes parasites and kills water bacteria is now here to save the situation, writes Mike Ssegawa
What do cholera, diarrhoea, dysentery, bilharzia, hepatitis, intestinal worms and typhoid have in common? They are all deadly waterborne diseases. The bad news is the next victim of any of the above, could be your loved one, but most likely, your child because children don't always mind their source of drinking water.
These diseases have existed in tropical Africa for ages, but as the planet gets more and more contaminated, so have become water sources. Parents are being sent to the extremes to ensure safety for their children because they cannot guarantee their safety at school.
Ms Brenda Nakitende, a mother of four and a resident of Namasuba, along Entebbe Road has resolved to pack her children's lunch boxes with drinking water every day.
In schools, where children spend most of their time, they do not have treated water. Some parents however, have to part with their hard-earned money to buy juice or bottled water for their children to be safe while at school.
Others like Ms Nakitende, cannot afford the Shs4,000 to buy a litre of water for each of her four children. So she boils it and ensures they have enough for the day. Going by reports that say about 90 per cent of springs in central Uganda are contaminated and one out of every six people has no access to safe water, Ms Nakitende must always go the extra mile to keep her children safe. She must bear the burden of ensuring her young ones have enough water drinking for the eight hours they spend at school.
However, with three water purifying technologies available today in the country, Ms Nakitende now has options instead of spending time and energy on boiling water.
Last week, Pureit water purifiers were launched. Mr Shah Paresh, the proprietor of the purifiers said they are aiming at creating a market for inexpensive water filters as a cost-effective solution to the water quality problem faced by many low-income consumers.
Other instant water purifiers include Life Straw, manufactured by the European-based Vestergaard Frandsen and Population Service International (PSI) which also markets WaterGuard solution.
WaterGuard tablet treats 20 litres of water and can be purchased in strips of two for Shs200, providing a pocket friendly option for those unable to purchase a bottle of the solution at ago. The introduction of such solutions means that woes like those of Ms Nakitende's will be history.
Speaking at a function to launch Pureit product on November 2, Mr Paresh said Uganda's mineral water industry had rapidly grown but of late the bottled water industry has unfortunately been saturated with counterfeit water.
"That is why Ugandans need to consider purifying water themselves using such globally tested modern purifiers," Mr Paresh says.
Since curbing the drinking of unsafe or untreated water has been at the centre of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) campaign and despite the fact that Uganda is said be doing fine, there is still a lot to do.
According the recent UNDP report, 67 per cent of Ugandan households have access to safe water. Though Unicef says on its website that four out of five children either use surface water or have to walk more than 15 minutes to find a protected water source in sub-Saharan Africa in countries such as Ethiopia, Rwanda and Uganda. The lack of proper treatment of water at the source, storage or points of consumption is responsible for disease burden and deaths of thousands of people from avoidable diseases.
And with an installation of such life saving gadgets, water borne diseases may not reduce the quality of life and perpetuate poverty, or having to spend money on medical care.
The Pureit water purifier which costs Shs250,000, like other water purifiers, offers protection from water-borne diseases and purifies a litre of water at Shs19. The purifier has a unique germkill battery technology that kills all harmful water bacteria and removes parasites and pesticide impurities. According to pureit.com, the purifier cleans drinking water in four stages, beginning with the removal of visible dirt, followed by the removal of harmful parasites and pesticide impurities.
Then, the harmful viruses and bacteria are killed and finally the water is rendered clear and odourless by removing remaining impurities.
Pureit, uses a germkill battery which runs the water purification process. As long as the battery is on, it automatically kills all harmful viruses and bacteria and removes parasites and pesticide impurities in the water. The battery has battery life indicator which shows the user the status of the power of the germkill battery. When the battery is exhausted and shows a red light, it indicates that you need to replace it. The germkill battery lasts till about 1,500 litres have been purified. This will go ahead to improve the life of children, impacting education and their productivity.
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