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- Clean water - is that really what Africans need?
Clean water - is that really what Africans need?
Late last year, my friend Elie was trying to figure out where to donate. Since trying to explore the whole charitable sector at once was too big a project, he decided to focus on the popular "clean water for Africa" cause. He found that there's a lot more to this cause than water.
There's no way to generalize across every region, but in most regions where charities are providing clean water, they're doing so in order to prevent the spread of fatal diarrhea (literally, diarrhea so bad it causes dehydration to the point of death). The thing is, the water is just one of the many ways in which people end up ingesting fecal matter (which causes diarrhea). Since they don't have proper latrines, flies carry feces over to them; since they often are uneducated about sanitation, they often contract it from their own hands, after defecating or changing their babies.
According to the charities Elie has spoken to, the best way to fight diarrhea is often not to work on clean water - which is expensive, complex, and generally leaves many avenues to infection. A variety of other methods work to varying degrees (and depending on the circumstance): simple sanitation courses, latrine building, water purification tablets, and even simple medication that can save people's lives for pennies once they've actually contracted diarrhea. Lots of strategies, lots of different charities going about it differently - and no consensus on what works best and for whom. This is a complicated issue, where choosing the charity with the best strategies - and the best process for picking its approach to a region - could save lives. This is obviously more than a matter of "low overhead" - in fact, high overhead may be needed to sort through the complex issues and attack each region as intelligently as possible. 
So where's the dialogue on this? Nowhere right now, because charities are reluctant to share substantive information on what works (including what hasn't worked). Instead, we hear about "water" about 10x as much as strategies that are often more cost-effective, because "water" is sexy and "water" sells. Fundraising and effectiveness are totally separate.
Getting real information is going to take money (to induce charities to open up) and hard work. But as a grantmaker, we can get it, and unlike all other grantmakers, we're going to share it with the whole world so all donors can make truly informed decisions, and so everyone with an opinion can put their heads together on how to save lives. In helping people, as in everything else, ideas are more powerful than money; good choices are as important as generosity. And in this area, lives are at stake. That's why we haven't been able to stomach staying at our jobs and keeping GiveWell as a part-time project (as it was when Elie was researching diarrhea). That's why we're determined for GiveWell to become the world's first transparent grantmaker.
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Bad Water A Leading Killer
The World Health Organizations states:
"Diarrhoea occurs world-wide and causes 4% of all deaths and 5% of health loss to disability. It is most commonly caused by gastrointestinal infections which kill around 2.2 million people globally each year, mostly children in developing countries. The use of water in hygiene is an important preventive measure but contaminated water is also an important cause of diarrhoea. Cholera and dysentery cause severe, sometimes life threatening forms of diarrhoea."
Contaminated water is one of the leading killers in our world today. In every disaster I've responded to over the past decade, inflows of sewage into drinking water (earthquakes, floods, etc.) quickly become an exacerbating health challenge to people who are already struggling to survive. As a result water purification projects are also part of our initial relief efforts in every disaster.
We have networked with many of the leading agencies in our world, and have found most using chlorine tablets to fight bacterial challenges. However, in many locations - especially in the third world where many have never tasted any chemicals in their water - we find mass numbers of people who say things like, "We will go back to drinking our regular water because it does not taste as bad." As a result, more get sick.
We have quite successfully used the McGuire Water Purifier (see info on our web site and links to Duvon McGuire). This is actually a chlorine generator that can purify thousands of gallons of water per hour. The unit costs us less than $800, can run on 12 volt power (we have even used this with only solar) and is simple enough to operate that I have trained many indigenous tribal people in little grass hut villages how to take care of their problems using one of these. The gas dissipates out of the water in two hours, leaving no residual taste. They will also run almost in perpetuity with the (other than 12 volt power) only thing they need being water and salt (functioning on the electrolysis of salt).
So why do I bring all this up? No I don't sell these, and will have no benefit from telling you about them, except to say THESE SHOULD BE BEING USED BY MORE AGENCIES BECAUSE THEY REALLY WORK, WORK SIMPLY AND WORK VERY EFFECTIVELY. On the link above you will find links directly to the engineer who makes these as part of a small yet significantly effective non-profit ministry in Indiana. I can only say good things about these units as I have seen thousands upon thousands of lives positively affected by their use.
One other point...
If some of the disease concerns expressed here effect or concern you, please consider downloading and ready this material from the World Health Organization.
Then think about one final thought that I would like to share with you.
Where H.E.L.P. has just been working in rural India, there is a thick layer of what appears to be dirt on EVERYTHING. When you take a closer and more informed look, you will learn that of the 1.3 billion people who live in India, about 70% urinate and defecate right on the surface of the ground. Much of what appears to be a layer of dirt on everything is actually dried fecal matter. The W.H.O. report above lists significant new research on the spread of many forms of disease which can be inhaled from such "dirt."
Teaching hygiene and the need for latrines in many third world locations is vital.
If anyone would like to more about what is being done and/or could be done in more locations to address this problem, please feel free to contact me. It is a huge need.
Thanks for bringing up a topic most would rather not talk about. Is that lack of willingness to talk about this problem that adds to the challenges created when relief agencies don't want to share information or effectively partner with others.
We must stop working to build relief dynasties and start working together to address needs.
Randy Roberson - Disaster Logistics
rroberson@disasterlogistics.org
www.disasterlogistics.org
This is why we exist:
"Is that lack of willingness to talk about this problem that adds to the challenges created when relief agencies don't want to share information or effectively partner with others."
That's what we've observed, and that's what we're devoted to attacking.
I really appreciate your sharing information about the McGuire Water Purifier (among other things). We are constantly collecting info like this and using it to question the charities we deal with more effectively. I'll make sure this gets added.