IndiaPost.com - AAPI-CF aided safe drinking water for Indian villages

CHICAGO: More than a million villagers in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Punjab and Rajasthan could get clean drinking water every day upon implementation of an agreement between AAPICF (American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin Charitable Foundation) and Naandi Foundation, a philanthropic organization based in Andhra Pradesh.

The agreement, signed in May, has the goal of establishing Community Safe Drinking Water Systems (CSWS) and sanitation in at least 400 villages across the four states during the next five years, possibly to be extended to other states later.

AAPICF will promote the program for concerned individuals to adopt a village of their choice and provide one-time sponsorship for the project through the foundation. AAPICF will also work with state governments through physician alumni from those four states to raise matching funds, according to Dr Jagan Ailinani, past president. Dr Hemant Patel, President of AAPI, said this was in line with AAPI's 3007 agreement with the Government of India for initiatives to improve the life of rural Indians. Dr Patel commended Dr Ailinani for his initiative in bringing it about.

Dr Krishan Agarwal, Chair of AAPICF, said the organization currently runs 16 free clinics across India. Prevention is an important focus of AAPICF, and the provision of safe drinking water is key to disease prevention. AAPICF's contribution for setting up each CSWS would be Rs 5 lakh. This would fund safe drinking water units of 1,000 liters-per-hour (lph) capacity. Units with higher capacities would require greater funding.

Purified water would be made available for 10-15 paise per liter. Naandi Foundation has partnered with WaterHealth International, and its India subsidiary, WaterHealth India, for technology to rid water of bacteriological contaminants and with Tata Projects Limited for removing chemical contamination, especially fluoride and salinity.

The system supplied by WaterHealth India uses ultraviolet light to kill pathogens and provides potable water at a very affordable cost of Re 1 for 12-15 liters. Naandi will be responsible for the operation and maintenance of the CSWS. Naandi Foundation is a not-for-profit trust working in the areas of education, health and livelihood since 1998.

Its board is chaired by Dr Anji Reddy of Dr Reddy's Laboratories and includes Anand Mahindra of Mahindra & Mahindra, Ramalinga Raju of Satyam Computers, and KS Raju of the Nagarjuna Group. Speaking about the MOU, Manoj Kumar, Chief Executive Officer of Naandi Foundation, said that "this intervention will showcase a decentralized, new community-based and community-responsive approach which will increase availability of clean drinking water.

Although this MOU is initially limited to 400 units, its impacts would be great given the economic benefits that will result from reduced medical expenses associated with treating water-borne diseases and increased productivity.

Additionally, there will be tremendous social benefits to providing equitable access to safe drinking water for the rural communities, especially the lower income group amongst them." Amit Jain, National Director (Water Program) for Naandi Foundation, said "Naandi's safe drinking model solves a common problem that plagues many pilot programs: it is entirely scalable and replicable and also contributes to the local government's objectives of making clean drinking water available to the communities."

According to the World Bank, 21 percent of communicable diseases in India are water related. Although entirely preventable, water-borne diseases kill about 1.5 million Indian children under five every year. In Andhra Pradesh alone, an estimated 150 children die each day from diarrhea caused by unsafe drinking water. It happens because most water bodies in India are contaminated by pathogens.