HowLifesavingIsTheLifestraw?

TheProblemofCleanWaterAccess

Accesstocleandrinkingwaterisabasicneedforallhumanbeings.However,thisbasicneedisnotmetformillionsofpeoplearoundtheworld.AccordingtoWHO,around2.2billionpeoplelackaccesstosafedrinkingwater,andmorethan800,000peopledieeachyearduetodrinkingcontaminatedwater.

Thesituationisparticularlydireindevelopingcountriesandregionsaffectedbynaturaldisasters.Inmanycases,peoplehavetodrinkfromrivers,lakes,orotherunsafewatersources,whichexposesthemtowaterbornediseasessuchascholera,diarrhea,ortyphoidfever.

TheSolutionOfferedbyLifestraw

Fortunately,therearemanyNGOs,companies,andindividualsworkingtoimproveaccesstocleanwaterthroughvariousmeanssuchasdrillingwells,buildingwaterfiltrationsystems,ordistributingbottledwater.Oneofthemostinnovativeandeffectivesolutions,however,istheLifestraw.

TheLifestrawisaportablewaterfilterthatcanprovidesafedrinkingwaterineventhemostchallengingenvironments.ItwasdesignedbyaSwisscompanycalledVestergaard,andithasalreadyhelpedmillionsofpeoplearoundtheworldtoaccesscleanwater.

Howdoesitwork?TheLifestrawusesadvancedfiltrationtechnologytoremove99.9999%ofwaterbornebacteria(suchasEscherichiacoli)and99.9%ofwaterborneprotozoanparasites(suchasGiardiaandCryptosporidium).Itcanfilterupto1000litersofwater,anditdoesn'trequireanybatteries,chemicals,orelectricity.

TheImpactofLifestrawonPeople'sLives

TheLifestrawhasmadeasignificantimpactonpeople'slivesinvariouspartsoftheworld.Herearesomeexamples:

1. InKenya,theLifestrawhasbeendistributedtoschools,wherechildrencannowhaveaccesstosafedrinkingwaterinsteadofhavingtodrinkfrompollutedsources.Thishasreducedabsenteeismandimprovedthechildren'shealthandacademicperformance.
2. InHaiti,afterthe2010earthquake,theLifestrawwasusedtoprovideemergencydrinkingwatertothousandsofpeopleindisplacedcamps.Ithelpedpreventthespreadofwaterbornediseasesandsavedmanylives.
3. InSouthSudan,whereaccesstocleanwaterislimitedduetoongoingconflicts,theLifestrawhasbeenusedtoprovidesafedrinkingwatertorefugeesanddisplacedpersons.Ithasalsohelpedtoreducetheincidenceofdiarrheaandotherwater-relatedillnesses.

Overall,theLifestrawisanexcellentexampleofhowtechnologycanbeusedtosavelivesandimprovepeople'swell-being.Itisaffordable,effective,andeasytouse,whichmakesitanidealsolutionformanycommunitiesandindividualsinneed.Withmoresupportandinvestment,theLifestrawcancontinuetomakeasignificantimpactinthefightagainstwaterbornediseasesandthequestforuniversalaccesstocleanwater.