In response to the alarming mortality rates that have been reported highly caused by the waterborne infection in NkhataBay north, from 2016,Temwa in partnership with SMART Center introduced a Household Water Treatment and Sanitation (HWTS) project through offering a supply chain for water filters to be made accessible within the community, provide education in HWTS and proper filtration use, and regularly assess the storage and use of water within the households to ensure consistent use.
Malawi continues encountering enormous problems dealing with lack of clean water where in some parts of Malawi, women walk long distances in search of clean and portable drinking water (Noorani P.2010). According to Temwa 2016 assessment conducted in part of NkhataBay north areas of lakeshore and upland, 90% of households continue drinking direct untreated water from the lake, rivers and wells. 85% of the targeted households do not have standard pit latrines which increases waterborne diseases.
The projects objectives include; to strengthen governance systems at community level in addressing WASH challenges; to increase usage of safe drinking water among households and public institutions; and to increase adoption of household sanitation and hygiene practices. However the project will still focus on contributing to the overall national objective which is; to support and study the potential for culture/ behaviour change around community health in Malawi following the three components.
Once the household adopt the water filters gadgets, the incidences of the water borne diseases will be reduced sparing more time to the households to attend to equally more productive ventures such as agriculture and school. The frequent outbreaks of cholera will also be addressed.
