2023_PS_Water-14

2023 Seed Grant Award Problem Statements

Water and Sanitation

Problem #14: Collect and Study Data to See if there is a Connection Between Water Purification Packets and Waterborne Diseases in Hospital Admissions

Country/Region of execution:  Kenya and Brazil

Collaborating Organization:  ChildFund

ChildFund International works throughout Asia, Africa, and the Americas to connect children with the people, resources, and institutions they need to grow up healthy, educated, skilled, and safe. Our programs address the underlying conditions that prevent children and youth from achieving their full potential and, in 2021, reached 16.3 million children and family members.

Water and sanitation (WASH) are one of ChildFund’s key programs worldwide. One of ChildFund’s major external supporters of WASH programs is Procter and Gamble’s Children’s Safe Drinking Water (https://csdw.org/), which provides water purification sachets to ChildFund-supported populations and as part of P&G’s global program with like-minded organizations. ChildFund usually funds the community-based distribution and promotion of these sachets among these populations.
 

Problem Statement Description:  ChildFund has been receiving P&G’s support around the world for years, most notably in Kenya and Brazil, promoting clean drinking water.  However, there doesn’t appear to be much data on the success of these packets in preventing waterborne disease. Most of our measurement has been on the process (e.g., number of people served, number of packets distributed, etc.).

Our CO colleagues in Brazil tried unsuccessfully for the first time to connect the use of the water purification packets to waterborne disease-related hospital admissions. It would be helpful to complete a multi-arm experimental study comparing current methods against just the packets and the packets + sensitization to see how effective the different components of the intervention really are.
 
This study's results will improve the reach and impact of future ChildFund’s participation in this global P&G’s program.