Adriaan Mol, Author at Sanitap https://sanitap.org/author/mola/ Climate Change Solutions Tue, 15 Feb 2022 16:19:47 +0000 en-GB hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.1 https://i0.wp.com/sanitap.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/fav-1.png?fit=32%2C29&ssl=1 Adriaan Mol, Author at Sanitap https://sanitap.org/author/mola/ 32 32 214817236 Fixing a fundamental flaw in hygiene promotion https://sanitap.org/fixing-a-fundamental-flaw-in-hygiene-promotion/ Thu, 06 Jan 2022 16:05:54 +0000 https://sanitap.org/?p=5980 Why explain to people the health benefits of handwashing with soap, when people don’t even have running water at home? SaniTap Co-Founder Adriaan Mol, based in Nairobi, Kenya, was increasingly frustrated with what he saw in the field. He developed a solution. Even the UN took notice. In the past, Mol has directed large water, …

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]]> Why explain to people the health benefits of handwashing with soap, when people don’t even have running water at home? SaniTap Co-Founder Adriaan Mol, based in Nairobi, Kenya, was increasingly frustrated with what he saw in the field. He developed a solution. Even the UN took notice.

In the past, Mol has directed large water, sanitation and hygiene programs in Africa for international aid agencies. He was surprised by what he saw: ”Most hygiene promotion stresses the importance of washing hands with soap. But when there is no running water at home, it’s impossible to put hygiene knowledge into practice…”

Deceptively simple design
With the help of other handwashing experts, Mol developed a solution under the name ‘SaniTap’. It is basically a plastic water pouch with a soap net attached to it. A spout delivers the right amount of water for handwashing, and closes with an upward tap with the back of the hand. This avoids contamination of clean hands. The bag has a handle, for easy transportation from a water point to the home and beyond.

Complex emergencies
It must be one of the simplest hygiene devices available – yet one of the most effective. Research shows the proper handwashing reduces the risk of diarrheal diseases by 47%. Maybe that is why a UN agency took notice and started to use the SaniTap in one of the largest and most complex emergency areas in Africa.

A missing link
“Washing projects consist of three main parts: providing clean drinking water; safe disposal of stool and hygiene promotion”, explains Mol. “The first two parts have clear hardware components: taps, pipes and toilets. But the hygiene promotion had nothing, until now. The SaniTap feels like a missing link”.

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]]> 5980 One in four handpumps in Africa is non-functional https://sanitap.org/one-in-four-handpumps-in-africa-is-non-functional/ Mon, 06 Dec 2021 09:56:50 +0000 https://sanitap.org/?p=1 A recent study published in the International Journal of Water Resources Development quantifies the problem of broken-down drinking water infrastructure in rural Africa. Their findings “suggest that approximately one in four handpumps in sub-Saharan Africa are non-functional at any point in time, which in 2015 was roughly equivalent to 175,000 inoperative water points.” These statistics …

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]]> A recent study published in the International Journal of Water Resources Development quantifies the problem of broken-down drinking water infrastructure in rural Africa. Their findings “suggest that approximately one in four handpumps in sub-Saharan Africa are non-functional at any point in time, which in 2015 was roughly equivalent to 175,000 inoperative water points.” These statistics hide regional differences. Development experts in Madagascar, for instance, estimate much
higher failure rates, running to 60% in remote areas.

The human tragedy behind these numbers is shocking. Each well might be used by a hundred families on average. The total number of people that has lost access to safe drinking water because their pumps broke then amounts to some 90 million people. In turn, this translates into countless lives lost, especially young children.

There are many reasons why pumps don’t get repaired. As the Economist describes, sometimes village committees responsible for collecting repair fees are corrupt. More often, plain poverty is the cause; qualified repairmen are hard to find; or spare parts unavailable.

In this age and day, these reasons sound more and more like hollow excuses. A combination of smart technology and innovative financing mechanisms enables clever business models that can keep the water flowing, indefinitely. SaniTap is working to prove this at scale.

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