UNICEF: Bringing safe water to remotest Haiti

http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/h...

LEOGANE, Haiti 26 February 2010 Simple plastic buckets and inexpensive water-purification tablets are being used to provide safe drinking water to people living in the mountains outside Leogane, an area that was close to the epicentre of the earthquake that struck Haiti in January.

Many of the households situated in the mountains rely on river water for drinking, which leaves them highly susceptible to diarrhoea and other water-borne ailments that are especially dangerous to children under the age of five.

The project was spearheaded by UNICEF partner Deep Springs International, a non-governmental organization specializing in water treatment, with help from Save The Children. Because the team had been working on the project before the earthquake, it was perfectly situated to step in and provide immediate relief. The goal is to deliver 15,000 water buckets to quake-affected families.

UNICEF is contributing to this effort with follow-up visits to monitoring the effectiveness of household water treatment.