The Safe Drinking Water Alliance was established in 2004 by the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Global Development Alliance to address the challenges created by lack of access to safe water. The Alliance brought together Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs (CCP), Population Services International (PSI), CARE USA, and Procter & Gamble (P&G) to test three marketing models to increase demand for water treatment and to identify the potential of P&G’s PUR in each model as an alternative point-of-use (POU) technology.
The three models tested by the Safe Drinking Water Alliance included a commercial marketing model with full cost recovery in Pakistan, a social marketing model where some promotional costs were subsidized in Haiti, and an emergency relief model in Ethiopia. In Pakistan and Haiti, a combination of behavior change communication activities and PUR-branded messages and materials were disseminated to increase the demand for water treatment and to introduce PUR. In Ethiopia, CARE staff working in the Community-Based Therapeutic program were fully in charge of introducing PUR and providing the motivation and information for its use.
The Safe Drinking Water Alliance partners studied barriers and facilitators to sustained water treatment behaviors, as well as reactions to and use of PUR specifically. Findings have clear programmatic relevance and add to the emerging literature on water treatment behavior and the adoption of new technologies, particularly providing insights about feasible directions for PUR.
Key conclusions and program recommendations identified by the Safe Drinking Water Alliance partners include the need for PUR promotion to capitalize on the power of PUR’s visual effect and to provide solutions for the quantity of water that can be treated and the need for two buckets. Another recommendation is to create a stronger visual effect that can be used to increase awareness of water quality, particularly in areas where water sources tend to be turbid.
The Safe Drinking Water Alliance partners also emphasized the importance of creating the habit for a new behavior, which requires a long-term commitment with continuous program support and presence in the field. Demand creation requires intervention at multiple levels, from policy and leaders to prioritize and maintain water treatment in their agenda, from civil society and the private sector to identify technologies and resources that can make household water treatment easy to practice, and from institutions like clinics and schools to consistently promote and model the behavior.
Programs should also identify and collaborate with trusted local NGOs, leaders, and other community-based groups to assist with awareness raising and normative change, and to provide additional means for promotion of the new behavior and product distribution in remote communities. Additionally, programs should consider training and engaging product retailers to resolve doubts, provide positive feedback, and enhance motivation among potential consumers.
The Safe Drinking Water Alliance’s work has provided valuable insights into the challenges and opportunities for increasing access to safe drinking water, particularly in low-income communities. The Alliance’s findings and recommendations have the potential to inform the development of effective water treatment programs and policies that can improve the health and well-being of millions of people worldwide.