Celebrating World Water Day with Innovative H20 Solutions

March 20, 2015 By Ashley E. (Chandler) Chang

“Water, water everywhere, and not a drop to drink.” As we approach World Water Day, this line from the Rime of the Ancient Mariner takes on extra meaning for the more than 750 million people who don’t have access to safe drinking water.

This World Water Day, we celebrate those who are innovating solutions to this H20 challenge.

Case in point: Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA), a Connecticut-based organization making a game-changing global impact in water-stressed regions. In partnership with USAID and the Gates Foundation’s WASH for Life Partnership, IPA is delivering cutting-edge water solutions with its Chlorine Dispenser System.

By simply turning a valve, IPA’s dispenser system releases a metered dose of chlorine before filling up a household water container. This small, sustainable solution treats water at the source and keeps it safe for drinking for up to three days. The cost? Just 50 cents per person per year.

IPA offers an inexpensive, safe, and effective way to deliver the purifying power of chlorine to local water sources in poor rural areas, where water-related diarrheal diseases are the leading cause of death for children age five and under. More than 1.8 million people in Kenya, India, Bangladesh, Peru, and Haiti already rely on this lifesaving technology, and IPA continues to expand across the globe. By 2016, they hope to have reached 5 million people with their Chlorine Dispenser System.

As clean water remains a major global health priority, solutions like this are making a lasting difference. Without partners such as USAID and the Gates Foundation, progress on water access would be impossible.

Thanks to advancements in technology and U.S. leadership in water security, more women, men, and children are able to drink, clean, and cook with safe water today.