The complicated landscape of safe drinking water for households is discussed in this podcast.
Published on: 20/08/2018
Governments have the responsibility to provide safe water to its citizens. This is embodied in the human rights to water and sanitation. But in many areas, government is unable to keep up with the expanding populations, maintenance of existing water supplies and required monitoring to effectively manage them. Even when they do, water can get contaminated during transport and storage. Treatment at point of use is essential, then, to prevent diarrhoeal disease. Whilst universal service by government is the goal, entrepreneurs can play an important role in building and meeting demand for safe water for households in the medium term. Water can be produced and delivered to households. And filtration and chlorination products can be sold to enable households to do the treatment themselves.
But the landscape on options and their suitability in different contexts is a minefield for governments and the private sector to understand.
In this episode, Andy Narracott, speaks with two guests - Fanny Boulloud and Kanika Verma about the role of government in supporting the private sector to enable adequate water quality at the point of consumption.
Fanny Boulloud is Water & Sanitation Hygiene Coordinator for Asia with Antenna Technologies. Antenna Foundation works in science on essential needs for the bottom of the pyramid, which include the sales of chlorine generators and business models around safe water. Fanny comes from an international business and environmental sciences background, joining Antenna in 2014.
Kanika Verma leads the sustainable enterprise team of TARA (Technology and Action for Rural Advancement), which is incubating a social enterprise that supplies safe drinking water to low-income communities. Kanika is an applied economist by training and used to run her own financial investment firm in the US.
To get the full story listen to the podcast below, read the shownotes.
