
Humanitarian operations have little in place to ensure that water quality complies with safety guidelines at the point of consumption, a significant oversight in response efforts.
Chlorination is the most widely practised water treatment technique used to supply safe water to refugees and internally displaced persons. If well managed, it can ensure residual contamination protection from the point of water dispensation to the point of water consumption in the household.
Humanitarian agencies prioritize water safety and routinely collect, monitor and report residual chlorination data. Little is done, however, to leverage this information to ensure that water quality complies with safety guidelines at the point of consumption, a significant oversight in response efforts.
The proper management and analysis of routinely collected residual chlorine data, using appropriate statistical techniques, will provide humanitarian field workers with high-quality, site-specific, and evidence-based operational guidance. The Safe Water Optimisation Tool (SWOT) is being developed with this primary objective. It aims to:
- Improve public health by reducing the incidence of water borne disease
- Establish site-specific guidance to ensure stricter compliance with chlorination standards at the household level
- Improve accountability to populations and donors
- Highlight problematic areas or practices towards which resources can be focused during water supply interventions or outbreak control
With Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders
You may also be interested in...
Dahdaleh Institute researchers contribute to York's achievements towards the United Nation’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals
In June 2020, York University launched its new University Academic Plan 2020-2025 (UAP), which included a university-wide challenge to elevate York’s contributions to the United Nation’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The new UAP serves as ...Read more about this Post
Congratulations! Jude Kong Selected to Develop Global South Artificial Intelligence for Pandemic and Epidemic Preparedness and Response Network
The five-year project is aimed at ensuring vulnerable and at-risk populations are included in disease outbreak management and policies. At a time when the risk of emerging or re-emerging infectious diseases (ERIDs) is increasing, an ...Read more about this Post
Update – Thanks for Contributing to the In-Kind Donation Drive for Earthquake Relief
On February 6, 2023, densely populated cities and towns bordering along Türkiye and Syria were struck by a massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake followed by a 7.5 earthquake. As the death toll climbed quickly to over ...Read more about this Post