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PHW Ghana Blogs
Poor water quality is a serious health concern in both rural and urban areas of Northern Ghana. It is the cause of major infectious diseases including diarrhea, hepatitis A, typhoid, and guinea worm. The Northern Sector of Ghana is similar to the rest of Ghana in that it has high rates of diarrheal disease. However, the rate of death from diarrhea in the Northern sector is much higher than in the rest of the country, especially in children under five years old.
The problem of the high incidence of the disease has several facets, which include lack of access to safe water and sanitation, as well as lack of hygiene behaviour change.
This is where Pure Home Water Ghana comes in!
• Reached over 100,000 people with the Kosim ceramic pot filter, through direct sales and emergency distributions (flood, guinea worm outbreak) since 2005.
• Proved willingness to pay by villagers in remote Northern Ghana, those earning < US$1/day.
• Provided employment to > 20 Ghanaians since 2005.
• Established an office, training center, lab, guest house.
• Built partnerships with government, agencies, NGOs.
• Monitored over 2,000 filters directly in user households
• Hosted 40 MIT students over 5 years.
The Northern Region of Ghana, over the past decade, has been the epicentre of Guinea worm infection in the country and has consistently accounted for over 90% of the country's caseload. For example, in 2007 the Savelugu-Nanton district had over 80% of cases recorded in the country, while the Central-Gonja District accounted for 62% (142 out of a total 228 nationwide) of Guinea worm cases in Ghana from January to June 2009.
Many of the water sources in the Northern Ghana not only contain microbiological contaminants like bacteria, viruses, protozoa and worms, but are also often either too turbid to drink (contain too many particles) or dry up during the dry season, making access to a sufficient quantity of safe water even more challenging. A simple, affordable solution to make contaminated and scarce water resources safe for human use would be a major stride in fighting poverty in Northern Ghana.
Water Quality
Poor water quality is a serious health concern in both rural and urban areas of Northern Ghana. It is the cause of major infectious diseases including diarrhea, hepatitis A, typhoid, and guinea worm. The Northern Sector of Ghana is similar to the rest of Ghana in that it has high rates of diarrheal disease. However, the rate of death from diarrhea in the Northern sector is much higher than in the rest of the country, especially in children under five years old.
The problem of the high incidence of the disease has several facets, which include lack of access to safe water and sanitation, as well as lack of hygiene behaviour change.
This is where Pure Home Water Ghana comes in!
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Pure Home Water - Ghana
Pure Home Water (PHW) is a social enterprise and legally registered non-profit organization based in Tamale, Ghana founded in 2005 by Susan Murcott, Senior Lecturer in MIT’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. PHW is the leading organization in Ghana involved in the deployment of ceramic pot filters, the locally branded “Kosim” filter, with a special focus on low-income households. PHW boasts of trained field personnel who are experts in the handing of the hardware and software aspects of the ceramic pot filter and how to successfully integrate this technology into the household.Accomplishments of Pure Home Water (2005-2010)
• Reached over 100,000 people with the Kosim ceramic pot filter, through direct sales and emergency distributions (flood, guinea worm outbreak) since 2005.
• Proved willingness to pay by villagers in remote Northern Ghana, those earning < US$1/day.
• Provided employment to > 20 Ghanaians since 2005.
• Established an office, training center, lab, guest house.
• Built partnerships with government, agencies, NGOs.
• Monitored over 2,000 filters directly in user households
• Hosted 40 MIT students over 5 years.
Northern Ghana
The Northern Region of Ghana, over the past decade, has been the epicentre of Guinea worm infection in the country and has consistently accounted for over 90% of the country's caseload. For example, in 2007 the Savelugu-Nanton district had over 80% of cases recorded in the country, while the Central-Gonja District accounted for 62% (142 out of a total 228 nationwide) of Guinea worm cases in Ghana from January to June 2009.
Many of the water sources in the Northern Ghana not only contain microbiological contaminants like bacteria, viruses, protozoa and worms, but are also often either too turbid to drink (contain too many particles) or dry up during the dry season, making access to a sufficient quantity of safe water even more challenging. A simple, affordable solution to make contaminated and scarce water resources safe for human use would be a major stride in fighting poverty in Northern Ghana.