Project Partners

• Ministry of Health - National Centre for Water Supply and Environment (Nam Saat)


• 
  World Health Organization (WHO)


• 
  World Bank/Belgian Technical Co-operation (WB/BTC)


• 
  Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA)

Target Populations/Location

• Pilot households in 15 villages administered by Don Chanh and Ban Phone Health Centres in Lamam district of Sekong province.

Project Design

• On-site sodium hypochlorite generation in the provincial health office and distribution to pilot households via district health centers and village health volunteers. Sodium hypochlorite is currently distributed free of charge without a marketed brand name nor label. Households dose sodium hypochlorite to their normal household water storage container, typically an earthenware pot.


• 
  Nam Saat community dialogue on environmental health and hygiene including household chlorination among a range of water treatment methods. Community dialogue also includes training materials illustrating safe dosing.


• 
  Laboratory trials on production, evaluation, effective dosing, storage and shelf-life extension of 0.6% sodium hypochlorite generated using an electrolytic cell.


• 
  Emergency distribution to low-lying villages during 2002 flooding.

Project Start Date

• June 2000

Results of Project Evaluations

• Approximately 60% and 30% of households respectively in Don Chanh and Ban Phone health centre areas chose to participate in the pilot following community dialogue.


• 
  In 2001, 80% of randomly selected pilot households, or 54% of all households in Don Chanh health centre, had some free-chlorine residual in their household water container indicating high daily usage among participating households. The 2003 evaluation showed 86% of pilot households, or 59% of all households, had some free-chlorine residual. No thermo-tolerant faecal coliforms were detected in approximately 70% of samples from households where free-chlorine residual was detected.


• 
  Results indicate technical feasibility and widespread acceptability of the intervention among the target population. Based on the findings the pilot could be expanded to the full safe water systems concept.

For More Information

• iddingss@cam.wpro.who.int
• 
  who@lao.wpro.who.int

1600 Clifton Road, MS-A38
Atlanta, GA 30333
Phone: +1(404) 639-0231
Email: safewater@cdc.gov