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The efforts to develop a SODIS bag continue

12th of April 2012 - Matthias Saladin

As we previously reported, a pilot version of the SODIS bag has been tested in Bolivia, DR Congo, Nepal, Nicaragua, and Kenya. Based on these experiences an improved version was developed and produced with the purpose of facilitating future interventions in disaster situations. In April we started a pilot project with local partner organizations in Haiti where the SODIS bag will be used and evaluated. During two months, 200 families will daily use the product and test its handling, durability and user-friendliness.

 

Water Prize Award to the Fundación SODIS

22nd of March 2012 - Matthias Saladin

The United Nations Water Coordination Office (UN Water) awards every year a prize for outstanding projects in the field of water management and public relations ("Water for Life Award"). This year, the first prize in the category "best participatory, communication, awareness-raising and education practices" is awarded to a project of the Fundación SODIS in Bolivia. The award ceremony will take place on 22 March in Rome on the occasion of the World Water Day. We congratulate the Fundación SODIS for its outstanding achievements.

The award-winning project focused on working with women's groups within the context of a sustainable development objective. The Fundación SODIS trained these groups in several topics, including hygiene, equal opportunities and SODIS. The women's groups then identified jointly with the local population the most pressing problems and elaborated a concrete action plan on how to address these problems. The project also supported the women's groups financially in order to implement parts of this Action Plan that met great success: In the course of the project, the number of people treating their drinking water (with the SODIS method, chlorine or boiling) and washing their hands increased from 36 % to 89 %. The project was implemented in 70 communities, reaching more than 13 000 people in the department of Cochabamba.

The Fundación SODIS is an independent non-profit organisation based in Bolivia. It was founded in 2001 by Eawag and SDC (Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation) staff and focuses on research, development and promotion of simple solutions in the field of water, sanitation and hygiene in Latin America.

Further information:
SODIS Promotion in Latin America >>
Fundación SODIS >>
Water Prize of the United Nations >>
UN Water >>

 

School project launched in Bolivia and Kenya

14th of February 2012 – Fabian Suter 

School children from 40 Bolivian and 30 Kenyan schools are being trained in the project "Safe Water School" (school with safe water). Nine lessons of the specifically developed manual familiarise the pupils with the topics of water and sanitation: They learn how to treat their own water, to protect the treated water from recontamination, to wash their hands well, and to use the toilet correctly. Each of these measures reduces the risk of contracting diarrhoea, an important factor for the development of children.

Aside from water treatment with the SODIS method, we also teach the schools how to produce their own chlorine to disinfect their water. Our project is conducted in close collaboration with Antenna Technologies Foundation, which has been successfully active for several years in schools. Around 50 000 school children will be trained in “Safe Water Schools” by the end of this year.

More Information: Safe Water Schools >>

 

Improved physical development

20th of December 2011 – Monika Tobler

The prestigious Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, which has been investigating the SODIS method for many years, has recently presented its latest results. Scientists examined the impact of SODIS training courses on the health of Kenyan children aged between 6 months and 5 years. They also considered for the first time the growth of children. The study revealed that children consuming exclusively SODIS-treated drinking water were not only less affected by diarrhoea, but also physically more developed than children of a control group who drank untreated water. The results obtained confirm the long-term positive impact of SODIS projects on children’s health.

SODIS - Scientific publications >>

Article - Randomized Intervention Study of Solar Disinfection of Drinking Water in the Prevention of Dysentery in Kenyan Children Aged under 5 Years >>

 

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