Pure and Simple

By Vo Tuan Hai – Hai Lang ADP

Having easy access to safe drinking water is something most people take for granted despite its vital importance to health. For many communities living in lowland areas of the central province of Quang Tri, however, it remains a significant challenge, especially during the storm season that often results in localised flooding.

To improve this situation, World Vision’s Hai Lang Area Development Programme has joined forces with the corporate giant Procter & Gamble and the local authorities to promote the use of a powdered mixture removing contaminants in water that might otherwise cause serious health conditions, especially among children.

The communication session, which took place in March in Hai Lang district, taught local residents about clean water and sanitation issues, as well as how to use the purification (PUR) packets. The event is a part of a project entitled ‘Safe water for vulnerable communities during floods and the storm season’ and is co-funded by World Vision and Procter & Gamble between 2012 and 2014.

In addition to Hai Lang, the project will be implemented in Vinh Linh, Trieu Phong and Huong Hoa, all of which are coastal communes prone to flooding and in which World Vision has embarked on long-term development programmes. Some 9,000 families, including 10,000 children, living in the four districts are expected to benefit from the project.

Families with limited access to clean water will be prioritised for the receipt of PUR sachets, only one of which is needed to quickly turn 10 litres of dirty, contaminated water into clean, drinkable water. The packets are more suitable for people in isolated areas than bottled water because they can be more easily transported to remote locations.

In the district of Hai Lang, local people often lack clean water during the summer and are affected by floods every year from August to December.

A 2013 World Vision survey revealed that 20 percent of Hai Lang families did not have enough water for their needs and another 50 percent relied on water taken directly from wells and rivers. Half of these people did not use any water treatment methods and less than two percent of those interviewed fully understood the issues surrounding clean water.

According to UNICEF, 20,000 people die due to diseases related to drinking polluted water and poor hygiene every year in Vietnam. Of these, around 1,100 children under five die as a result of conditions caused by acute or chronic diarrhoea, with 90 percent of these cases linked to the ingestion of contaminated water and lack of hygiene.

The PUR packets have been developed by Procter & Gamble together with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and use technology similar to developed nations’ water supply systems.