Bolivia

Bolivia

Country statistics Population: 9.5 mio. People without improved water supply: 1,3 mio. Child mortality: 5.7% Source: United Nations Statistics Division Project Start of SODIS promotion: 2001 Training by NGOs, local health promoters, schools, health professionals, women's groups 500 000 users

Since 2001, we have been working, together with the SODIS Foundation, on the diffusion of the SODIS-method in Bolivia. Bolivia is the poorest country in South America – and at the same time the country with the lowest coverage of basic infrastructure such as electricity, water and wastewater.

After successfully completing pilot projects in the region of Cochabamba, we started to promote the method with small, local organisations. In spite of big differences between cultural (and climatic) settings in the highland and in the lowland, we found ways to sensitize people from these regions for sensitive issues like diarrhea and hygiene. By now, all mayor NGOs working in the water and health sectors have recognized the SODIS method as a valuable complement to their ongoing projects and programmes. Most of them include the SODIS-method in their activities, and the Ministry of Health also supports the promotion of the method. Through this process, the SODIS-method has overcome some mayor obstacles. Now it is time to take advantage of the enabling environment which has been established. Thousands of families still have not heard of SODIS, and there is a need for information campaigns and large-scale rollout programmes in order to make sure the method is applied correctly by users.

Our recent projects placed focus on schools. Between 2008 and 2010, we implemented SODIS projects in more than 200 schools together with our local partners, often also involving hygienic and sanitary aspects. In 2011, the Eawag developed a handbook specially designed for schools. We plan to subsequently use it in 40 schools in the municipality of Tiquipaya. The school is an ideal place to impart knowledge and to practise new behaviours. Through specific information campaigns we involve parents, so that families may also have access to safe drinking water.

Local partner organisation

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