UNICEF finds solutions to provide safe water to children no matter where they live
Explore how UNICEF in Venezuela and Madagascar are finding innovative and sustainable solutions to make sure children have access to water services.
Around the world, 785 million still people do not have basic access to safe and affordable drinking water. The effects of climate change will only increase the threat to water quality, particularly where water is scarce or in regions that are more prone to natural disasters.
To make sure children have access to safe water, no matter where they live, UNICEF employs different solutions that are built to withstand climate shocks and to limit greenhouse gas emissions. Often in coordination with local authorities and with support from partners, UNICEF prioritizes water systems that use renewable energy and innovative technologies that help anticipate water-related emergencies before they begin.
From the semi-arid regions in Madagascar and the tropical forest in Venezuela, see two ways in which UNICEF is making sure children have access to safe water.
Monitoring ground water in Madagascar
In Madagascar, only 42 per cent of the population have access to clean water. People living in remote villages often need to walk 5 to 20 kilometers to fetch water, and consumption of contaminated surface water from open sources like lakes, ponds and rivers is very common.
The situation is even more alarming in the arid southern regions, especially in Androy, the driest region of the country, where people suffer the impacts of climate change with more frequent and intense droughts.
Since 2015, UNICEF and partners have addressed water scarcity by drilling more than 685 boreholes across the country. But some of these wells did not produce the expected results as often their water became insufficient or unsafe to use due to overexploitation, droughts and salinization.
That’s when technology comes to help. In southern, eastern and south-eastern Madagascar, UNICEF and partners have been installing devices in the boreholes to measure the quality and level of the groundwater. Through the internet, these devices send information on the level, salinity and temperature of the water to a public information system that keeps regular online bulletins. The system also releases automatic alerts when the water reaches very low levels.
Avoiding overconsumption
Monitoring the quality and level of the water in these boreholes is helpful for several reasons. “Communities can avoid overconsumption in dry months and follow the water level throughout the years to watch if a well is expected to dry. They can then act early to avoid the well going dry by limiting groundwater extraction and recharging the aquifer with the construction of dams,“ explains Franklin Golay, Technical Officer at UNICEF Supply Division’s Water, Sanitation and Education Centre.
UNICEF will soon be installing similar monitoring systems in 50 other boreholes throughout Madagascar and is looking at how to further expand the programme. The same approach is being adopted in other countries including Sudan, Afghanistan and Pakistan, where technical specifications provided by UNICEF are guiding the acquisition of the equipment necessary for the project.
Solar energy to treat water in Venezuela
Water is abundant in San Francisco de Guayo, Venezuela, home to the indigenous Warao community. Six hours away by boat from Tucupita, the capital of the Delta Amacuro State, San Francisco de Guayo is located by the Orinoco River, the fourth largest in the world by flow rate.
Until very recently, people in this community consumed water directly from the river and suffered the consequences of drinking untreated water. Waterborne diseases like diarrhea and dysentery were frequent and a common cause of death among children.
Since March 2023, the community has gained access to safe drinking water thanks to the installation of the first solar-powered water treatment plant in this community. The plant, built by UNICEF with support from the authorities and international donors, directly benefits 10,000 people living in San Francisco de Guayo and the surrounding communities. It also improves the services provided by the health centre, ensuring safer deliveries, better care for children who need hospitalization, and improved breastfeeding practices.
Pedro Ogando Dos Santos, UNICEF Venezuela Water and Sanitation Specialist, says that the support from the local government with transport and logistics was crucial for the construction of the plant: “The construction took three weeks and required an operation that included the transportation by boats of all workers who would build the plant and the equipment needed, including solar panels, and filter and water tanks.”
Support from the local community is also crucial to make sure the clean water will be used and to maintain the plant. People from the community were trained to keep the plant clean and functioning and are engaged in convincing the families to use the treated water. “Many indigenous people believe that treated water is dead and prefer water coming directly from the river. We are involving community leaders, mainly women, to help us explain the importance of using water from the plant and distribute buckets for fetching it.”
Pedro believes that this kind of threefold cooperation can be scaled up to provide safe water to other indigenous communities in Venezuela and to balance the high costs of treating water to people living in rural areas. “The solar-powered plants are easy to maintain, giving people in this communities not only safe water, but also lifelong autonomy,” he says.
