Mswakini Safe Drinking Water, PUR Demonstration Project
CURRENT PROJECT
Through funding made possible by Procter & Gamble's Children's Safe Drinking Water (CSDW) Program, FHI 360 and its partner, Selian Lutheran Hospital, are providing safe drinking water and education on water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) to the residents of Mswakini Chini and Juu villages under the two-year Mswakini Safe Drinking Water, PUR Demonstration Project.
Diarrheal diseases, like cholera and dysentery, caused by drinking contaminated water and poor hygiene practices remain a leading cause of illness and death among infants and children in the developing world. Diarrhea is also a large contributor to morbidity and mortality among people living with HIV (PLH). In Tanzania, 28,200 people die from diarrhea each year—over 16 percent* are children under five years old.
By providing PUR water treatment technology and complementary WASH education, the project aims to provide safe drinking water for all and to improve health outcomes—particularly among most at-risk populations, including:
- People living with HIV/AIDS
- Orphans and vulnerable children participating in home-based care programs
- Households with children under the age of five
- Primary school children
- Patients at the Government health facility
Strategy
PUR is a highly effective product that benefits the whole community. It is easy to use once demonstrated, however requires reinforcement and continued support to ensure lasting change in water treatment behaviors. By working with the entire community—through a combination of household and community-based WASH education sessions provided by peer educators, and with consistent distribution of PUR to community members—the project aims to create a critical mass for sustained behavior change.
Sustaining Behavior Change
The more a community is mobilized around safe drinking water, the greater the positive reinforcement for the desired behavior and likelihood of sustainable behavior change. All community members, regardless of HIV status or children's age in Mswakini are exposed to WASH communication and educational activities and provided access to PUR. Community discussions and PUR demonstrations are held in open forums and at the household level aimed at reaching the entire community over the two-year period of performance.
The project uses communication aids developed under the USAID-funded T-MARC Project covering topics such as:
- Preventing diarrhea
- Proper hand washing procedures and times
- Setting up hand washing stations (including tippy tap construction)
- Importance of treating drinking water
- Using PUR sachets consistently and correctly
- Safe water handling and storage
News, Publications, and Results
News
- P&G to rebrand labels of PUR water purification packets (December 2011)
- Safe Drinking Water Project Wins Grant to Expand Efforts in Tanzania (February 2011)
Publications
- Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Fact Sheet (PDF, 504kb)
- Advancing the Blue Revolution (ABRI, n.d.). The United Republic of Tanzania. Washington, D.C.: United States Agency for International Development (USAID) (PDF, 113kb)
Results
To date, the Mswakini Safe Drinking Water, PUR Demonstration Project has:
- Conducted community sensitizations with district officials, leaders, community, and other stakeholders
- Recruited and trained community volunteers
- Trained teachers and health and community leaders on improved WASH behaviors and PUR
- Conducted educational sessions with all 450 Mswakini Chini households and at the health facility and school. In 2011, the Project will expand its work into Mswakini Juu
- Distributed 52,050 sachets of PUR since project start-up
Contacts
Kara Tureski
Project Director
1825 Connecticut Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20009
+1 (202) 884-8981
ktureski@fhi360.org