International Aid and Disaster Relief

International Aid and Disaster ReliefPoverty, high density populations, environmental devastation and civil unrest prevalent in many developing countries exacerbates the widespread health implications of bacterial water contamination. Furthermore these conditions challenge the implementation of any potential water testing efforts.

Safe drinking water is essential in developing countries as it is in the developed world, but the conventional methods of water testing has depended on laboratory facilities and trained technicians, often unavailable in developing countries. Without adequate water testing, people are at a high risk of drinking contaminated water containing viruses and bacteria linked to potentially fatal diseases such as cholera, typhoid fever, dysentery, and infectious hepatitis.

Our bacterial testing kits Coliplate and Watercheck offer a solution to the challenges of water testing initiatives in developing countries. Our technology enables remote towns and villages to test their water independently, thus taking control of their own community safety. Our concept is to use simple testing kits, instead of reliance on traditional laboratories. The benefits of our test kits for use in developing countries are listed below.


Benefits

  • Simple to use – Test kits can be used by a non-technical individual and a laboratory facility is not required.
  • Lower cost tests – These on-site bacterial testing kits are inexpensive in comparison to other methods of testing which often require expensive equipment and transportation of water samples to a lab facility.
  • Faster remedies - Rapid results mean water contamination problems can be remedied more quickly. The tests provide results on-site in 24 hours. By comparison, results from commercial water-quality analyses may take up to a week or longer.
  • Frequent testing – With these do-it-yourself tests, more frequent testing is now possible. Ideally some water tests should be done on a weekly basis.
  • Community empowerment - The simplicity of the tests enables people in isolated communities to perform the tests and interpret the results themselves. Building local ability to provide a basic community service can create a sense of empowerment and self-reliance in communities adopting this approach.
  • Promoting Education – Community based water testing can lead to increased awareness of the causes of contamination and may help promote environmental protection and hygienic water-handling practices.


International Aid and Disaster Relief Programs

Our bacterial testing kits have been used extensively by International Aid Organizations assisting communities in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Using our test kits these organizations have established community-based water monitoring programs. These programs have been highly successful in monitoring the safety of community wells and other drinking water sources, particularly in remote and isolated communities which would otherwise not have access to water testing technologies.


International Aid Organizations using Watercheck and/or Coliplate for Water Testing:

World Health Organization (WHO)
Doctors without Borders
Engineers without Borders
Care Canada
Africa Community Technical Service (ACTS)
Partners International


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