Four billion cases of diarrhea occur annually, of which 88% is attributable to unsafe water, and inadequate sanitation and hygiene. 1.8 million People die every year from diarrheal diseases, the vast majority being children under the age of 5 years. Lack of safe water perpetuates a cycle whereby poor populations become further disadvantaged, and poverty becomes entrenched. WHO (2010) estimates that 94% of diarrheal cases are preventable through modifications to the environment, including interventions to increase the availability of clean water, and to improve sanitation and hygiene. In addition, a 2005 Cochrane systematic review concluded that diarrheal episodes are reduced by 25% through improving water supply, 32% by improving sanitation, 45% through hand washing, and by 39% via household water treatment and safe storage. Experience has shown that systems for the detection of waterborne disease outbreaks are typically inefficient in countries at all levels of socioeconomic development, and failure to detect outbreaks is not a guarantee that they do not occur; nor does it suggest that drinking-water should necessarily be considered safe (Clasen et al., 2006).
There is now conclusive evidence that simple, acceptable, low-cost interventions at the household and community level are capable of dramatically improving the microbial quality of household stored water and reducing the attendant risks of diarrheal disease and death. Recent evidence suggests that point-of-use water quality improvements alone result in a one-third or greater reduction in diarrheal disease morbidity. Self-sustaining, decentralized approaches to making drinking water safe, including point-of-use (treatment) target the most affected, enhance health, contribute to development and productivity, and merit far greater priority for rapid implementation (Mintz et al., 2001).
The promise of household water treatment and safe storage can only be unlocked with collaboration: joint action to ensure that families become empowered to take charge of their drinking water safety; working together to make certain that affordable and appropriate household water treatment and storage (HWTS) options become available; and partnering to ensure that solutions are delivered and used sustainably. Collaboration is fostered via the Network’s four core working groups on: advocacy, communication, research and implementation. Treating and safely storing water in the home would clearly accelerate progress towards meeting the MDGs (Target 10) in situations where families have access to sufficient quantities of water that is of poor or questionable quality (Weber, 2002).