Waterborne diseases caused by harmful bacteria and parasites in drinking water affect millions around the world.
In many places, people walk great distances, only to fetch their family’s daily supply of water from contaminated sources like rivers, streams, and ponds.
Through its work in Ghana, Bright Water Foundation (BWF) knows hope is on the rise. Waterborne disease is preventable. Its causes are understood, and the solutions are known.
Governments and international aid organizations are making powerful strides to improve clean water access by building protected wells and boreholes closer to the people who need it most.
In rural Atiwa West District, Ghana, most families collect household water from nearby deep wells or boreholes.
Properly built and maintained, boreholes can provide clean safe water—a huge win for public health.
However when BWF arrived in Atiwa West, levels of waterborne disease, especially among children, was high.
Of 1,468 households surveyed by BWF’s Safe Water Educators (SWEs), the number reporting incidents of diarrhea in children during the 14 days prior to the survey date, was 36%.
Why so high? Because access to clean water is not the complete answer.
Turning the tide on waterborne disease must encompass how water is handled after it leaves the pump.
Water that starts out safe becomes contaminated when collected in dirty containers, exposed to unwashed hands, transported in vessels open to dust and human or animal contact, stored in uncovered household water barrels and dipped into—not just for drinking, but for all household water needs.
These everyday unsafe water habits are often overlooked as contributive to waterborne disease.
However, in initial tests of samples from water storage containers in 800 Atiwa West households, the percent registering “unsafe” or “dangerous” for human consumption was 82%.
At BWF, we know this is a preventable problem, and is why our Safe Water Initiative focuses on those with power alone to change unsafe water habits—families themselves.
In tests conducted one year later, the number of contaminated samples had fallen to 38%. And two years later, to 16%.
The fight against waterborne disease doesn’t stop at the borehole—it continues in the home.
Through home visits, BWF’s Safe Water Educators equip families with simple at-home water disinfection tools and know-how. They encourage and support families in exchanging old water habits for safe water habits that make and keep their water safe to drink.
After one year, in families taught by our SWEs, cases of diarrhea over a 14-day period had fallen from 36% to 2.8%.
These results call for global safe water efforts to see beyond clean water access as a “one-and-done” solution.
The power to more fully turn the tide on waterborne disease lies in the capable hands of families who—given simple safe-water understanding and tools—act for the health and well-being of their own loved-ones.