Zomba Residents Applaud Inline Chlorination Program
Zomba residents thank Evidence Action for ICL water program.
Zomba, Malawi: Residents of Ngwelero community in Zomba are expressing their appreciation for the Inline Chlorination (ICL) programme introduced by Evidence Action, an international organisation based in the district, writes Mustafa Makumba.
The programme aims to provide people with access to chlorinated water directly from water tanks.
The initiative involves mixing chlorine with water directly from the tanks, ensuring that people have access to treated tap water.
A device connected to the tank's inlet pipe disinfects the water before it reaches the collection point.
"This will ensure that people receive pre-chlorinated water from the taps, eliminating the need for them to chlorinate the water themselves," said Grace Kaupa, the lead officer for the program.
The ICL program also addresses the issue of waiting time associated with chlorine dispensers.
With dispensers, individuals have to wait at least 30 minutes for the chlorine to settle and mix well.
The ICL program eliminates this waiting time, allowing immediate access to chlorinated water.
Many water users, including health centres and schools, have been consuming untreated water from taps for a long time.
This has led to health problems, including waterborne diseases such as cholera and diarrhoea.
"For a long time, we have had clients at our facility experiencing waterborne complications," said Alice Somanje, a health surveillance assistant (HSA) at Ngwelero Health Centre.
"Most people at the facility only use tap water for washing and cleaning, while they rely on borehole water with a chlorine dispenser for drinking and cooking. The ICL program will ensure that the facility provides treated water to all our clients."
The residents of Ngwelero are applauding this development. Cecilia Harrison, a resident, expressed her joy and highlighted the detrimental effects of untreated water on their health.
"Sometimes tap water here at the facility becomes contaminated and full of germs, causing panic among us users," she said.
"The ICL program will ensure that people have no worries when accessing water from the tank, as it will already be treated at the source."
Chisomo Sambani, another resident, shares the same sentiment.
She explained how the program will allow her to access treated water in her home without manually adding chlorine.
"We always have to chlorinate the water every time we fetch it," Sambani said. "But having pre-chlorinated water from the tanks will be helpful, especially for children who may not always be cautious about their health. This way, we can avoid diseases."
The Inline Chlorination program is an extension of chlorine dispensers, which require users to add a certain amount of liquid chlorine to a specific volume of water after fetching it.
Asayire Kapira, the area coordinator, emphasized that the ICL program was introduced to provide treated water to people using taps that previously received inadequate treatment.
The program started in October 2022 in the districts of Mangochi, Balaka, and Blantyre, and Zomba district is expected to benefit once all formalities are completed.