Abstract
Safe drinking water is essential to good health. However, in resource-poor settings, water often comes from unsafe sources and carries deadly pathogens. The World Health Organization estimates that 1.8 million people die each year from diarrheal diseases, many of which are attributed to unsafe water. Safe drinking water is one of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals—by 2015, the United Nations hopes to decrease the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water by 50 percent.
To increase access to clean water, PATH is working to identify, adapt, and develop appropriate products and business models to build a sustainable commercial market in household water treatment and storage (HWTS) for low-income consumers. In Africa, PATH’s Safe Water Project is looking to gain a better understanding of:
- Household behaviors and consumer preferences regarding household water treatment.
- The current market for HWTS products.
- The potential for innovative distribution and marketing models to catalyze the sale and use of affordable HWTS products among low-income consumers.
