Data from the Nigerian Demographic Health Survey, NDHS 2013, reveal that 41 percent of Nigerians have no access to safe drinking water. An estimated 43 percent of these deaths are children under five years old while over 88 per cent of diarrhoea cases in the country are attributed to unsafe water and poor sanitation.
Worried by the challenges of obtaining potable water coupled with the high number of cases of water-related ailments in the country, the Society for Family Health, SFH relaunched the new WaterGuard Plus. At the official launch in Lagos last week, the Managing Director, SFH, Mr Bright Ekweremadu, worried that everyday many people fall sick from water-related ailments several of which are easily preventable.
“In communities where there is no safe drinking water, water and hygiene related illnesses cause a host of problems including; poor education because sick children are routinely absent from school and adults miss economic opportunities perpetuating the circle of poverty.”
egretting that clean point-of-use water has continued to elude Nigerians, especially amongst the largely rural, poor and vulnerable populations, he noted that the impact of water, hygiene and sanitation falls disproportionately on women and girls who are the main carriers of water.
“The quality of the water we drink is directly linked to the quality of our lives. Providing easy access to clean water for families and communities, will improve their health improving the living conditions and economic status for families and communities.
It would be recalled that in November 2004, SFH introduced WaterGuard – a liquid point-of-use water purification product that gained ground quickly and prevented illnesses and deaths from water and hygiene related causes. Ekweremadu said the new WaterGuard Plus, is an improvement on the WaterGuard brand.
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