18/04/2024
A Drinking Water Solution
AHD Nadi filter technology, locally Innovated, International Rewarded
The United Nations Universityâs Global Water Security 2023 Assessment has included Pakistan among 23 least developed countries who have severely impeded from achieving water security in seven of the ten components that include low levels of access to safely managed drinking water and sanitation services, health, measured by high WASH-attributed mortality, water quality, water value, water governance and water resource stability with high interannual variability and low storage capacity. As per our world in data.org, in the year 2019, Pakistan had 4.8 percent share of deaths due to unsafe drinking water, which is more than countries in Africa: Kenya - 4.7%, Mauritania- 4.7% Cameroon -4.6% Tanzania â 04.1%, Congo 04% Zambia -3.8%, Zimbabwe -03%, Mozambique -2.6%
World Health Oorganzation has informed that âcontaminated water and poor sanitation are linked to transmission of diseases such as cholera, diarrhea, dysentery, hepatitis A, typhoid and polio. Absent, inadequate, or inappropriately managed water and sanitation services expose individuals to preventable health risks. Some 1 million people are estimated to die each year from diarrhea as a result of unsafe drinking-water, sanitation and hand hygiene. Yet diarrhea is largely preventable, and the deaths of 395 000 children aged under 5 years could be avoided each year if these risk factors were addressed.â
A research paper published on Science Direct titled, âWater sanitation problem in Pakistan: A review on disease prevalence, strategies for treatment and prevention, writes âPakistan's availability and quality of water is feared to present with many complications. There have also been many threats to Pakistan's public health due to water sanitation and hygiene problems as the risks for waterborne disease exponentially increases. In Pakistan; 50% of the country's diseases and 40% of deaths occur due to consumption of contaminated water. Pakistan is severely challenged at an economic level as poor water sanitization has costed around 343.7 billion PKR (1.5 billion USD) in 2019.â
At the same time National Center for Biotechnology Information â National Library of Medicine writes in its paper âIn rural and urban areas of Pakistan, cases of waterborne diseases, typhoid, dysentery, cholera, and hepatitis are systematically reported. In Peshawar, most of water samples were found to be contaminated with coliform bacteria. In Karachi, it was also found that the drinking water samples were heavily contaminated with total and f***l coliform. In Khairpur, a city of 0.12-million population, water quality seems to be poor and therefore could be a potential source for waterborne diseases especially among children. In Islamabad and Rawalpindi, 4000 cases of hepatitis were registered and were due to unfit drinking water and improper treatment. Unsafe drinking water is a major cause of the disease, which otherwise may be prevented, in particular in young children in developing countries. In southern Sindh, waterborne diseases such as diarrhea, vomiting, gastroenteritis, dysentery, and kidney problem are caused by polluted drinking water.
Respectively, it is observed people store water is plastic vessels/pots. Because, the plastic pots and vessel are durable, easy to carry, light in weight, and easily available everywhere on the stores, people prefer to use plastic bottles, jerry cans, and tanks for water storage. But it is found that plastics bottles are not easily cleanable due to their design, and multiple chemicals, which are of low quality are used in manufacturing these bottles; may cause health complexities. According to clean water.org 325 average number of plastic particles is in a liter for the water sold, and 93% of bottled water sold has plastic particles.
In fact, our kitchens are replete with plastic bottles, jars, containers, utensils, garbage bags etc. and their usage is increasing at an alarming rate. Recently in 76th World Health Assembly WHO in its agenda 04 has suggested to âcontinue to provide technical support to countries, in particular developing countries, upon request, to build capacity to conduct science-based assessments and research, including on the association of pollution from plastics, including microplastics, as well as cadmium, arsenic, lead, agrochemical pesticides, among others, with known health effects, in order to inform the development of public health policies and support the strengthening of health systems in this areaâ.
A news article in Dawn newspaper wrote - âItâs better not to store and drink water from a plastic bottle. Plastic water tanks can only be considered a good alternative for ceramic or cement water tanks if they were resistant to heat and Ultraviolet (UV) rays and manufactured from non-toxic material that does not affect the odor and taste of water. The plastic tanks and bottles available in the market today are mostly manufactured from Polyethylene (PE), Polypropylene (PP), Bisphenol (BPA), High Density Polyethylene (HDPE), Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) and cross-linked Polyethylene (PEX), or Thermoplastic Polymer, which have very well-known health risks for end users.
Association for Humanitarian Development â AHD being an indigenous organization took efforts to explore a solution for safe drinking water in the year 2006, which is now internationally rewarded by six leading organizations including health champion GSK -UK for healthcare innovation award. This solution is named as âNadi Filterâ. Nadi is a clay pitcher, with matka and hill sand are assembled to make Nadi Filter to provide safe drinking water to keep people free of waterborne diseases. According to AHD chief Khurshid Bhatti who is innovator of Nadi filter in Pakistan says âit is solution for safe drinking water for developing countries.â
Nevertheless, AHD found a solution for drinking water, got it internationally accredited; but the scale of the need, year by year is touching to alarming numbers, the drinking water contamination, water infrastructure, water preservation was already a challenge to public sector; the repeated flood emergencies have further enhanced it. According to the Sindh health department data, a total of 891,915 cases of diarrhea were recorded in the province in the year 2022. And this is unchanged, research published by National Library of Medicine in the year 2023 writes; âin Pakistan, a country of over 225 million, 60% of infant and child deaths are caused by diarrhea. Children under 5 comprise of only 15% of the population, yet make up 50% of the mortality rate. However, Pakistan has the highest ratio in Asia for infant mortality from diarrhea. The World Health Organization (WHO) has ranked Pakistan 23 in terms of childhood mortality caused by diarrheal illness, with almost 6.4 million cases of pediatric diarrhea annually.â
But Khurshid Bhatti is very optimistic to drastically reduce waterborne disease from Pakistan. He says; âWe have provided 355000 Nadi filters which cater the need of safe drinking water for more than 3 million people in Pakistan. But we have scare resources to scale up. Once, government supports us, we could reach more people who drink water from canals, lakes, ponds, rivers to make their drinking water safe from biological contamination.â According to him Nadi filter water is tested from various leading laborites in Pakistan. These tests are conducted by third parties including research institutes like Sustainable Development Policy Institute, and many International organizations. SDPI has claimed in its report that; âpurifying water from bacterial contamination through Nadi filters gave the target population some hope for accessing safe drinking water by an inexpensive way which does not require any fuel or chemical to clean water from bacteriological contaminationâ.
AHD Nadi Filter has been accredited in the wastewater management policy guidelines manual by United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific which writes; âThe Nadi Water Filter is unique solution to extract potable drinking water from contaminated water at the household level by using everyday objects such as clay pots and sand. This is accomplished by the utilization of biological water treatment through microbes.
According to a study by National Center for Biotechnology Information â National Library of Medicine; âon average a household had to pay the Pakistani Rupee (PKR) 1,725 (10.79 US$) in peri-urban areas and PKR 1,094 (6.84 US$) in urban areas for the treatment of waterborne diseases (Exchange rate as of 24/07/2021: 1 PKR = 0.0080 US$). The cost ranged from as low as zero to over PKR 11,100 (69.42 US$) in peri-urban areas and about PKR 14,900 (93.19 US$) in urban areas. Furthermore, about 50% of the peri-urban residents and 90% of the urban residents are willing to pay PKR 100â1000 for quality/safe drinking water.
The people of Pakistan are recommended to adopt Nadi Filter says Khurshid Bhatti, âIt is easy, cheap and tested source for safe drinking water.â If we wish to avoid economic burden, do not deteriorate health and save our children; because Nadi Filter do not enhance economic burden like other forms of safe drinking water commonly used in homes; but provides solution for safe water for years at the very cheapest rates, which is less than one-month expenses of waterborne diseaseâ treatment.
Nadi filter is made from indigenous material â clay and hill sand which is eco-friendly, pollution free and easily decomposable. It is said that drinking water from clay pot maintain the pH balance in the body, increase metabolism, refreshes human body, filter out impurities in drinking water, provides nutrient-rich food, and provides minerals. Respectively the Qur'an describes how Allah created Adam: "We created man from sounding clay, from mud molded into shape..." (15:26). And, "He began the creation of man from clay, and made his progeny from a quintessence of fluid" (32:7-8). Thus, human beings have a fundamental attachment to the earth, writes; Northern Arizona University in its Islamic Creation Story. âAnd in these challenging times, it's perhaps no surprise that pottery is boomingâ, suggests BBC in its story âwhy the slow mindful craft of pottery is booming worldwideâ.
⢠Nadi filter preparation method: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBvclfeW_NA
Habibullah Khaskheli
Executive Director
Association for Humanitarian Development
House # 39/b, Block-B, Unit No. 2, Latifabad
Hyderabad Sindh Pakistan
Ph: +92-22-3407819
Cell: +92-332-2988294
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.ahdpak.org
