A Straw that Makes Contaminated Water Safe to Drink

Image credit:Vestergaard
Frandsen

Diarrhoea kills more young children than AIDS, measles and mumps combined. The statistics are staggering: according to the World Health Organization, 1.6 million people die every year, mostly in the developing world, from diarrhoeal diseases that originate from a lack of access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation facilities -- 90% of these are children under 5.

One social enterprise that is innovatively combating this problem is Vestergaard Frandsen, through a product called LifeStraw.

In essence, LifeStraw is a portable water filter requiring no electricity or batteries that claims to remove 99.99 percent of waterborne bacteria and protozoan parasites. It can filter upto 1000 litres of contaminated water. Vestergaard Frandsen also makes a version for use in the home, which practically does the same thing, except that it can filter upto 18,000 litres of water.

The basic idea is to enhance access to safe drinking water for people in the developing world, at home and away from home.

“We are for-profit company and we do make a profit,” says Elisabeth Wilhelm, Vestergaard Frandsen’s new media specialist. “Obviously our products are specifically designed to meet the needs of people in the developing world. That’s where our heart is and that’s where our focus lies.”

In response to safe drinking water crisis in Pakistan, brought about by the recent floods, the company has partnered with several organizations, non-profit and otherwise, to send 200,000 LifeStraws to Pakistan.

(Skip to about 3:00 in this video to watch Patrick Sieyes, Vestergaard Frandsen's Regional Director in the Middle East, demonstrate how to use LifeStraw.)

In the near future, the company plans to start selling LifeStraw on a retail basis in North America, something it already does in stores and bodegas across parts of Asia, Africa and Latin America.