Even as technological advances push ahead, many people are struggling to access the quantity and quality of water they need for drinking, cooking, bathing, washing, and growing food. This is the reality for many people in impoverished areas around the world – living in constant fear of sickness from such an essential component of life.
In the age of scientific wonders like smartphones and gene therapy it seems unfathomable that water is one of the biggest issues we face as humans – and yet here we are.
In 1972, the United States was one of the first countries to approve The Clean Water Act (CWA). It is to-date one of the most comprehensive environmental statutes in the US as it seeks to protect both human health and ecological resources. The world needs to wake up to this critical issue without much delay.
Global demand for safe water consumption brings with it significant challenges across security, health, environmental concerns, economic productivity, social cohesion, and gender discrimination. While these challenges are daunting, they are not insurmountable – and there are many fantastically innovative companies at the front of this next new business frontier.
While amazing progress has been made in making clean water accessible around the world, with people lacking access to clean water decreasing from 1.1 billion in 2000 to 785 million in 2017. There are still many opportunities to multiply the benefits of clean water through improved sanitation and hygiene behaviour change in the poorest nations globally.
Women and children are disproportionately the most affected — children because they’re more vulnerable to diseases caused by dirty water, and women and girls because they often bear the burden of carrying water for their families for an estimated 200 million hours every day. According to www.water.org, every two minutes a child dies from water-related diseases.
The United Nations recognises the importance of addressing the global water crisis each year on World Water Day, March 22. The fact still remains that this is a daily challenge for millions of people and every day without clean, easily accessible water, families and communities struggle to rise above poverty levels for generations.
There are innovative companies pioneering new ground-breaking new filtration technology for example. The process includes an intrinsically anti-microbial membrane that goes through the filtration technology that is ready to provide safe, clean water through a range of household and industrial products. This invention was the brainchild of two young and dynamic men who, through Hashoo Foundation Start-Up Challenge in Pakistan, were discovered and ultimately won the award and seed capital to develop this technology at mass production levels.
EveryWater, which is a patented technology unlike others, and its consumer product line, Pak Vitae, is one such example of water filtration created using innovative ERM (Esoteric Resistive Membrane) technology, in which thousands of intrinsically anti-microbial hollow fibre membranes work together to make one highly effective filter that delivers the purity everyone deserves.
Life without clean water is a reality for a large number of countries and communities around the world. Therefore, the urgent need to develop a solution will not only help in direct consumption of clean water, it will eradicate a large number of water-borne diseases that take thousands of lives every year.
There are lots of other companies making an impact too. From solar powered filtration, to fog catchers, to desalination plants, to a start-up called Zero Mass. Their technology uses solar power to create enough clean drinking water for two-to-three people or roughly 10 litres a day. The technology, called the Source Hydropanel, runs on a pretty simple premise. Solar energy heats a sponge-like material to create condensation that is collected in a 30-liter reservoir. The water is filtered, and minerals are added to improve the taste of the water.
The promising thing is that there are some great young minds taking clean water issue more seriously than the previous generation, as we’ve witnessed with Hashoo Foundation Start-up Challenge winners.
Another example is that of eWaterPay is using mobile technology and the Internet of Things (IoT) to enhance water infrastructure across Africa. Coupling contactless and blockchain technology with IoT and engineering prowess, eWaterPay has been able to answer many of the challenges that African countries face when it comes to water security.
There are answers to the water problems we are facing as a planet but committed investment and genuine innovation are needed without delay.
Murtaza Hashwani, deputy chairman and CEO of the Hashoo Group.
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