United Nations state that access to safe drinking water is a basic human right^1, yet 2 billion people in less fortunate parts of the world have only access to unsafe water sources.² This combined with poor sanitation and hygiene is the root cause of one of the world’s biggest health challenges.³

Unsafe drinking water increases the risk of transmission and outbreaks of diarrheal diseases which in worst case leads to death. Over 80% of the diarrheal deaths attributed to unsafe drinking water occur in the developing world.³

500.000 children die from diarrheal diseases every year – this is more than HIV, Malaria, and Tuberculosis combined, and makes it the second leading cause of death among children under the age of 5 worldwide.^3,4 Yet, only 1 out of 3 households are purifying their unsafe drinking water³, where boiling over firewood or charcoal is the most commonly used method – a process that is very time consuming, emits a lot of CO₂, impacts health by indoor air pollution, and leads to deforestation.^5,6

The tiresome work of water and firewood collection is predominantly done by children and women^7,8, which take time away from attending school or working to support the family’s income.

SaWa (short for Safe Water) is a well-proven Danish invention based on the WHO-endorsed SODIS (short for SOlar DISinfection) process to purify microbial contaminated water for drinking^9,10. The traditional SODIS process by PET bottles works by harnessing UV-A rays and heat from the sun. SaWa has improved this method by also harnessing UV-B rays, which in combination with the UV-A and heat significantly reduces the purification time and improves the killing of bacteria, viruses, and protozoa to a performance of minimum 99.9%

SaWa has been developed in collaboration with end-users in the refugee settlement Adjumani, Uganda. The size, capacity, features and working processes are carefully designed to fit the daily lives and needs in low-income, rural communities.