Accelerating proven interventions

Safe Water for every
mother and child

Delivering proven solutions to
the last mile.

Kano State, Nigeria $67/DALY averted
Nigeria

Bears a disproportionate burden.

Nowhere is the crisis more severe. Nigeria has the highest under-5 mortality rate in the world and accounts for 16% of global under-5 diarrhea deaths.

One child dies every 7.5 minutes — largely from causes that are preventable with safe water treatment.

The Problem

Unsafe Drinking Water:
A Solvable Crisis.

Sustainable Development Goal 6.1 is clear: safe water for all by 2030.

The reality today looks different:

2.2B
people lack access to safe drinking water
48%
of LMIC water sources contain harmful bacteria like E. coli
1 in 3
in low- & middle-income countries has reliable access
50%
of child diarrheal deaths caused by contaminated water
The Solution

Starting from evidence.

Decades of research show that treating drinking water with chlorine is one of the most cost-effective ways to reduce child mortality.

The evidence is clear. The challenge is delivery.

Approaches like vouchers, dispensers, and inline chlorination have expanded access to safe drinking water.

But each depends on specific infrastructure, user awareness, or consistent supply chains. In last-mile communities—where systems are fragmented, and risk is often invisible—these conditions are not always present.

Our model is designed for the last-mile contexts.

Interventions must move from research into implementation at scale to achieve sustained, population-level change.

Ladies collecting water from the river
The Solution

Point-of-Use Chlorination: Proven, Affordable, Simple.

Point-of-use chlorination involves adding a measured dose of chlorine powder or liquid to water stored at home, typically in a jar or large jug. This simple action inactivates harmful pathogens within minutes, making the water safe to drink, while providing ongoing protection against recontamination for up to 48 hours.

Proven

Kremer et al. (2026) found roughly 1 in 5 deaths could be prevented through this intervention alone.

Affordable

~$16 per household per year, though active delivery is required as no open market currently exists.

Simple & Effective

No infrastructure needed. Chlorine eliminates diarrhea-causing pathogens and prevents recontamination.

Safe Water Initiative

Results from Kano State, Nigeria.

135,500
People accessing safer drinking water through chlorine treatment
$2
Is all it costs to protect one person for a year
$3,195
Prevents an under-5 year old child death
$67
Averts a DALY
60%
Reduction in E.coli levels
67%
Reduction in child diarrhea
The How

Community-Based Chlorine Access.

Building a Model That Works in the Real World

Researchers developed the Community-Based Chlorine Access (CBCA) model — designed to solve both knowledge and access barriers to safe water treatment. The model has been tested and refined in Kano State, Nigeria through pilot studies and an ongoing randomised controlled trial. The result: sustained use — not just initial uptake.

Simple

Designed around how households actually access water — using existing routines, not adding new ones.

Scalable

Built to operate within existing public-sector infrastructure — so government can take over delivery.

Sustainable

Paired with behavioural reinforcement so adoption sticks beyond an initial intervention.

Our Model
Low awareness
Households don't know their water is unsafe and can be easily recontaminated.
Shift beliefs. Change knowledge.
We start with a community meeting, organised with local leaders who invite their community members. We demonstrate — visibly, practically — that the water people drink is contaminated. We show how chlorine treats it, how to dose it correctly, and how to store and manage water safely at home. Families leave knowing something they didn't know when they arrived: their water is making their children sick, and they can fix it for free.
Limited access
Households can't find chlorine nearby, or can't afford it — so even willing families can't protect themselves.
Make chlorine easy to access.
Households can't find chlorine nearby, or it costs too much. We set up local distribution points run by trusted community members — stocked regularly, free to access, within walking distance. No vouchers, no shops, less friction. The chlorine is just there, every time it's needed.
Simplified Theory of Change
Starting Point
Unsafe water + low awareness of risk + limited access to chlorine
What We Do
Community-based behaviour change + local chlorine access
This Leads To
Increased knowledge and risk perception + reliable supply of chlorine
What Changes
Sustained use of chlorine + improved water management practices
The Result
Consistent access to safe drinking water at the household level
Impact
Less illness, fewer deaths, lower health expenditures
Detailed Theory of Change
Newsletter

Insights from the field.

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