Module 3 - UNICEF: World Water Day

Module 3 - GOOD: Water

Module 3 - "Flow" Trailer

Module 3 - Reverse Osmosis Sanitation System (ROSS)

Currently in Sub Saharan Africa the average individual has to walk 6km and can only carry around 10-15 litres per trip, Red Button Ltd came up with an innovative idea set up by the challenage by Water Aid.

Red Button Ltd, is a company set up by 3 university students. Their innovative product the Reverse Osmosis Sanitation System (ROSS) was designed to help people in the developing world, collect water from a water source and filter is as they travel. The design is quite simple really, it enables the user to collect up to 50 litres of water from any water source over a 1.2km walking distance and as the user pushes the deviced, the wheels would filter the water so that once the user has returned to their community the water is safe to drink.

The company approached dragons den, asking for £50,000 for 10% equity to help develop their product. All dragons contributed with the 50k for just a 2% equity stake return.

Module 3 - LIFESTRAW

Designer and manufacturer Vestergaard Frandsen has developed a life saving straw devise. Its halogen-based resin filters kill bacteria on contact giving a healthier way to sip tainted water pools. Each straw can filter through 700 litres of water and last roughly one year. It has already been introduced in Ghana, Nigeria, Pakistan and Uganda, but why this device isn't being used by every person that struggles to find water every day is suggested in this reason by reporter Dan Mascai:

Yet for all its potential impact, humanitarian design is a risky business proposition. The challenge of selling to low-income customers is just one of many. In many underdeveloped regions, there might not be a suitable manufacturing facility, distribution can be a logistical nightmare, and where will you find an educated sales team? Such challenges make it tough—but not impossible—for a for-profit to thrive. To succeed takes patience and sometimes a non-profit approach to building a for-profit.

Module 3 - THE RIGHT TO WATER

As part of Module 3, I am to research the theme Water. I've picked the category Systems, so I'm going to be exploring political issues/debates/topics. A matter that is world widely known is the "The Right to Water" campaign established in 2003 by WaterAid and Rights for Humanity. There aims are halve the number of people without clean water by 2015 and to:

• Provide information on relevant policy commitments and explain the concepts and theories of human rights law with respect to the right to water.
• Disseminate General Comment No 15 adopted by the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights confirming and interpreting the right to water.
• Promote the use of the right to water as a tool for community empowerment, advocacy and legal redress.

"In this new century, water, its sanitation, and its equitable distribution, pose great social challenges for our world. We need to safeguard the global supply of healthy water and to ensure that everyone has access to it."

- Kofi Annan, United Nations Secretary-General

Some alarming statistics came from the UN Water Development report in 2006, reporting that:

• 1.1 billion people lack access to an adequate supply of water
  
• 2.6 billion people lack access to adequate sanitation
• 1.8 million children die every year as a result of diseases caused by unclean water and poor sanitation
• 1 in 6 has no access to clean drinking water and 1 in 3 has no access to sanitation
• Fetching water is estimated to take up to 40bn hours a year in Africa

Water is a finite resource. Although two thirds of the Earth’s surface is covered by water, only approximately 2.5% of this is freshwater. Of this, the total usable freshwater supply for ecosystems and humans is less than 1%
(Source: UN Environmental Programme, Vital Water Report/Graphics).

The problem of water scarcity has been compounded by man-made factors such as pollution, the mismanagement of water resources and increasing demand, particularly in the industrial sector. At the same time, lack of access to water by poor people is being exacerbated by water privatisation policies that inadequately protect access by poor individuals and communities.

Module 3 - THE RIGHT TO WATER

"Access to safe water is a fundamental human need and therefore a basic human right" - Kofi Annan, United Nations Secretary - General

"The environment is man's first right. Without a safe environment, man cannot exist to claim other rights, be they political, social, or economic."