Forbes examines efforts to bring clean drinking water to India, Kenya

Sep 11 2009

Forbes examines efforts currently under way to help people living in India and Kenya access clean drinking water through a partnership between Acumen Fund, "a nonprofit global venture fund focused on alleviating poverty" and the design firm IDEO. Called the Ripple Effect, the partnership received funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

The article details a recent workshop in Hyderabad, India, where water entrepreneurs from India brainstormed innovative ways to improve access to clean water and includes information about the country's efforts to educate the public about the hazards of unclean water. Proposals from the workshop in India have since been turned into pilot projects that were tested for several weeks in May, according to the news service. A similar workshop, which will yield pilot projects, is scheduled to be held in Kenya in September.

"We think everyone could have safe drinking water by 2025 if we devoted our efforts to it," said Paul Feath, president of Global Water Challenge, a coalition of groups dedicated to universal access of clean drinking water (Dolan, 9/11).