Filipino children get access to potable water thanks to 'innovative' powdered mixture

MANILA, Philippines — Water is life. The human body is made up of 60 to 75% water, which varies slightly depending on age, sex and hydration level.

The lungs alone are made up of 83% water, with the kidneys and muscles a stunning 79%, and the brain and heart composed of 73% water. This is why it is important for human beings to drink lots of water every day to keep properly hydrated and, thus, help the bodily organs function well.

Unfortunately, not everyone has access to clean drinking water. The poor and the marginalized oftentimes do not have such access, and thus millions of children and infants from low-income households are exposed to waterborne diseases due to dirty, contaminated water.

According to World Vision, access to clean water in the Philippines is being aggravated by the climate crisis. With an average of 20 typhoons visiting the country each year, rural and urban communities sustain significant damage to their sources of drinking water, including waterways and deep wells.

In an effort to help provide children with clean drinking water and arrest the spread of waterborne diseases in their communities, Procter&Gamble (P&G), in partnership with World Vision Philippines, is distributing its Purifier of Water technology as part of its Children’s Safe Drinking Water (CSDW) Program. As of 2023, the organizations have been able to provide over 200 million liters of clean water to almost 50,000 Filipino children and their families.

P&G’s Purifier of Water was developed by P&G scientists in collaboration with the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as a quick and innovative way to purify dirty and unsafe water. This powdered mixture was developed utilizing technology similar to that found in municipal water systems in developed countries.

One 4-gram Purifier of Water packet contains ferric sulfate, serving as a coagulant, and calcium hypochlorite, acting as a disinfectant. Together, these two ingredients can remove dirt, common waterborne bacteria and viruses, and other pollutants from 10 liters of potentially unsafe water in just 30 minutes.

Since 2012, World Vision has been distributing P&G Purifier of Water packets to