LifeStraw – Innovation for Life by Zylah Rae Triono

The Goal
The United Nations is currently implementing a worldwide program called
Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), with a deadline of reaching these goals
by 2030. Goal number six aims to achieve sustainable management of water
safety and availability (UNICEF, unknown).

(Sustainable Development Goal 6 – Clean Water and Sanitation)

Innovation to help achieve Sustainable Development Goal number 6

The innovative invention that I have selected to research and present is
Lifestraw which has been invented to address the problem of contaminated
drinking water in many impoverished countries. The LifeStraw is a water
filtration system that gets rid of 99.9% of protozoa and 99.9999% of bacteria
making contaminated water drinkable (The Borgen Project, 2022).
Who is affected by a lack of clean drinking water?
1 in 3 people around the world do not have access to clean drinking water.
Over 400 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa are at high risk of contracting
water-related diseases, such as cholera, typhoid, hepatitis A, dysentery, and
diarrhea which causes further dehydration. (Osemota. E, 2022). Groundwater
is also at risk of being contaminated by chemicals such as lead fluoride and
arsenic poisoning (Osemota. E, 2022).
(As you can see from this picture the majority of people without access to clean drinking water is on
the continent of Africa and Papua New Guinea)

What are the effects of a lack of clean drinking water

The long-term effects of a lack of clean drinking water are not just “no water to
drink.” The ramifications of this simple commodity that so many of us take for
granted, has far-reaching impacts on the lives of the people who are exposed
to this problem.
The most obvious effects would be malnutrition, disease, and a reduced
lifespan for people who are exposed to contaminated water. Children would
not be able to attend school because they're too sick, or too weak from
malnutrition and disease (Students Rebuild Team, 2014). They are just
struggling to survive day to day with the burden of trying to source clean
water. The idea of getting themselves an education for their future is
unfortunately far from their minds (Students Rebuild Team, 2014). For these
people, the future is bleak and uncertain. If you don’t have water, then you
essentially don’t have life.

(Gender inequality and school attendance are directly linked to a lack of clean drinking water)

With people sick, malnourished, and battling to survive every day with a lack of
education this would in turn directly affect the economy. People are not
healthy enough to work or do their jobs (Solidarites International, unknown).
They have no education, they cannot read or write, and they have no money to
generate or stimulate the economy.
Lack of clean drinking water is also linked to social unrest (New Security Beat,
2018). People are struggling to survive, they experience exclusion from the
economy with no access to basic essentials such as food and medicine. Crime
within communities and tribes is prevalent (New Security Beat, 2018) .
Vulnerable groups of people such as women and children are susceptible to
violence and attacks when having to source clean drinking water far from their
homes or in remote wells or water sources (Frontiers, 2020).
What difference does the Lifestraw make?
If LifeStraw were donated to countries around the world that suffer from
contaminated water, there would be an increase in life expectancy and a
decrease in the number of deaths caused by drinking contaminated water
(Frontiers, 2020). The health and well-being of people will become increasingly
better and diseases that were once a threat will become rare in these
countries (Frontiers, 2020). The education prospects, the standard of living,
and economic conditions will also be improved with something as simple as
clean drinking water. In conclusion, countries that were once struggling with
water contamination will have safe and drinkable water due to the innovation
of LifeStraw.
The challenges that Lifestraw innovation faces
Some of the challenges LifeStraw faces is, being available to people who need
it most. People who live in rural or developing countries need to be able to
have easy access to this life-saving innovation (Bibi. H, 2021). One of the
solutions to this problem is making donations to these communities in the area
and making the LifeStraw more prominent in these areas of poverty.
Geographically remote or difficult-to-access locations are one of the real
challenges that the distribution of innovation faces as well as a lack of
understanding of the product and resistance to change. (Bibi. H, 2021).
Another challenge is distribution costs and mismanagement of funds (Bibi. H,
2021). Ensuring that products do not fall into the hands of exploitation on the
black market is another challenge to overcome for Lifestraw (Bibi. H, 2021).
A possible solution to some challenges
A viable solution could be to provide the resources and materials that are
needed to manufacture a product similar to LifeStraw. This proposal is the
most sustainable solution so that people can produce their own supply rather
than relying on others to provide for them. This not only fulfills the need for
clean drinking water but allows the people to take back their own power by
providing for their own needs. My family and I live in a developing country and
many poor people are reliant on others for their basic needs. It is so important
to teach people how to care for and provide for themselves. My Dad calls this,
“giving people a fishing pole and showing them how to fish.”