Dow: A Global Advocate for Clean, Drinkable Water
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In every corner of the globe, people’s lives hinge on the availability of fresh water. World Water Day is an international day to celebrate freshwater. Recommended at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, it is held annually on March 22. World Water Day is a day to re-focus attention on the importance of freshwater and advocate for the sustainable management of freshwater resources.
Water is the single most important chemical compound for the preservation and flourishing of human life, and yet today, more than one billion people in the world do not have access to safe, clean drinking water. Waterborne diseases cause over 80 percent of illnesses in the developing world and represent one of the most serious public health threats. More than 6,000 people per day – mostly children – die from these diseases. Through partnerships with non-profit organizations, and businesses such as Dow Water Solutions, The Dow Chemical Company and its affiliated companies are helping to address this problem.
One year ago, Dow and International Aid announced a partnership to help provide safer and cleaner water around the world. Dow provides two million pounds of plastic resin to produce 300,000 HydrAid¹ BioSand Water Filters that are distributed by International Aid.
HydrAid filters are lightweight and have been designed to be easily transported to the most remote locations on the globe. Incorporating BioSand technology, HydrAid filters can provide clean, safe drinking water at the rapid rate of 47 liters per hour meeting all of a family’s water needs including drinking, bathing and washing clothes. The filters are operated on-demand, without the use of electricity, and can be cleaned in place without the need for any additional or mechanical replacement parts.
Over the past year, International Aid has distributed and installed filters into the Pong Village, in Northern Ghana, where illness from unclean water is a major problem. “It was about a year ago they [International Aid] brought the filters, and the water from the filters tastes good, it tastes fresh,” said Adam Mohammed, assembly member for Pong Village, Northern Ghana. “Before the coming of the filters, the community members used to have guinea worm, skin rashes, vomiting, etc. When these filters came, all the diseases vanished.”
Researchers at the University of North Carolina recently conducted a study of the effectiveness of the filter in Northern Ghana. While the study is not yet complete, preliminary findings in the field all point to significant reductions in the incidence of waterborne diseases.
“Small communities in developing countries present a unique challenge for the supply of clean water,” said Dave Kepler, executive vice president and chief sustainability officer for Dow. “As a leading chemical company, Dow is uniquely positioned to be able to provide breakthrough technologies that are transportable to areas such as Ghana. The technology provides clean water enabling children to be healthy to grow and to learn and parents to work and support their families.”
Dow has just launched a new Global Water Interactive Map highlighting Dow’s global water initiatives in celebration of World Water Day.
The Power of Global Collaboration
Sao Paulo, Brazil
At the Company’s first ever Sustainability Forum, Dow announced its collaboration with The Nature Conservancy to restore the wetlands of the Cachoeira reservoir in the Cantareira System in Brazil’s Atlantic Forest. Dow and The Dow Chemical Company Foundation are the exclusive supporters of the reforestation of the highly degraded landscape whose freshwater services are critical to the health and well-being of millions of people in Brazil. As the first steps of this critical undertaking, Dow’s support has enabled The Nature Conservancy to complete a flora and fauna survey in the region, establish a reforestation methodology with the most cutting edge technology available on restoration ecology, engage the local community in project implementation and fence in the restoration area to allow continued restoration efforts.
Haiti
Waterborne diseases kill more children in Haiti than anything else except malnutrition. Seventy-two children out of every 1,000 born in Haiti will die of waterborne illness, and only 8.5 percent of homes in Haiti are connected to public water utilities. To allow access to clean drinking water, Dow is sponsoring a project with Rotary International to provide funding to seven mission schools in Haiti, allowing 3,000 school children access to safe drinking water. Additionally, the project provides BioSand filters for 100 families, providing approximately 600 people with safe drinking water.
Global Awareness and Action
- Dow is a partial owner (30 percent) of Water Health International (WHI) and provided a $30 million loan guarantee to help WHI finance 2,000 systems that will supply clean water to more than 10 million people in rural India.
- Dow is a founding member of the Global Water Challenge, a unique organization that includes corporations such as Dow, Coke, Cargill and P&G, as well as other NGOs such as Care, Water for the People and Water Advocates, to provide leverage and cooperation to address water issues.
- Dow is a leading supporter of the United Nations’ CEO Water Mandate a mechanism of engagement of the business sector toward the issue of clean and affordable water for all. The mandate entails a comprehensive set of commitments in all relevant areas, including conservation, business solutions and participating in the public policy process to find effective models.
To find out more about what Dow is doing to help overcome the world’s water crisis, visit these stories:
Dow Technologies Make Undrinkable Water Drinkable
Recycle-Reuse Thinking: Dow’s Water Optimization Efforts
¹ HydrAid is a trademark of International Aid
