A UNICEF Success Story from Cameroon

In Cameroon, Simple and Innovative Ways to Make Water Safe

In rural Cameroon, nearly 50 percent of the population does not have access to safe, clean drinking water. For Mbelé Jeannette, a mother living in a small village in eastern Cameroon, unclean drinking water meant that her children were frequently sick. "Every three months they had diarrhea and I was obliged to take them to hospital,” Mbelé Jeannette describes.

To help families like Mbelé Jeannette's, UNICEF and Cameroon's Ministry of Public Health trained 30 health workers to teach communities some simple but effective water purification techniques—including adequately boiling water, using chlorination, and exposing water to sunlight to kill bacteria.

Mbelé Jeannette has noticed a big difference in the health of her children. "I have started to boil drinking water for my family," she says. "Since then, my children have not fallen sick."

UNICEF is also working with partners in Cameroon to explore more innovative ways to purify water. One technique that shows great promise is the use of "biosand" filters—water filtration systems that use several layers of gravel and fine sand to remove particles and germs.

UNICEF and its partners have been training communities in the use of biosand filters. At the end of training sessions, community associations receive a mold that families can use to make their own filters. To ensure families have a personal stake in the construction, use, and upkeep of the filters, they are asked to pool their money to purchase the cement necessary to make them. A trained technician then helps families successfully assemble the filters.

Altogether, a biosand filter costs about $13 and cleans more than six gallons of water per hour. Thirteen dollars can seem like a lot of money for poor Cameroonian families, but as Dr. Jane Alobwede from the country's Ministry of Power and Water Resources explains, "It is a cost-effective investment for them. Their members will have potable water to drink for many years—and will then stay away from diarrheal diseases and other waterborne diseases." In other words, it's an investment that will pay huge dividends in the health and well-being of children and their families.