UNICEF devotes a large amount of its resources to improving basic living conditions which will directly benefit children and their families in the developing world. These include improvement in Water and Environmental Sanitation (WES) conditions.
One of the most important objectives of UNICEF within the water and environmental sanitation field is to reduce the proportion of households that do not have access to affordable, safe drinking water and hygiene by at least one third by year 2010. Access to clean water can save the lives of millions of children. Something as simple as providing safe water and clean toilets in schools not only protects children from deadly diseases - it keeps millions of them, especially girls, going to school. UNICEF's emphasis on low-cost solutions through appropriate technology and community involvement is contributing to the confidence in most countries that safe water and sanitation can be made available nationwide at an affordable cost.
Whenever possible, affordable and practical, the use of sustainable energy is encouraged. It is clear that the use of such clean energy sources has a positive effect on the environment. Photovoltaic solar power systems can be used in many situations including pumping, lighting and communications. The cost of the systems is gradually decreasing as more applications of the technology are developed.
The achievement of UNICEF's goals in water and sanitation depends upon the procurement and timely delivery of appropriate and affordable supplies and on awareness of the scarcity of available resources.
UNICEF Supply Division has, over the years, compiled a wealth of knowledge in water, environment and sanitation-related commodities. Its continuous interaction with the market and various stakeholders in the field allows UNICEF to keep its expertise. This knowledge is always available to UNICEF Country Offices and external customers through direct consultation and also through the UNICEF Supply Catalogue.
UNICEF Country Offices and external customers are encouraged to use the catalogue for their purchases whether these are offshore procurement through Supply Division Copenhagen or local procurement. For offshore procurement, the use of standard items, with the correct standard catalogue numbers, will ease the procurement process and reduce the processing time. For local procurement, it will give standard specifications of the commodity based on compiled long experience and thus can avoid or reduce technical problems resulting from unclear specifications.
Items are listed in product group 11 WATER AND SANITATION. The sections in this product group are arranged in accordance with the logical cycle of water usage. Product groups start with reconnaissance and include water collection, water treatment, water supply and distribution, water storage, power generation, workshop equipment, water testing, hygiene and construction. Each product group is subdivided into several sub-groups that lead to individual items.
Water, environment and sanitation commodities that have received special attention include:
Water has a profound effect on human health as a media through which disease-causing agents may be transmitted. Consuming water containing pathogenic organisms or toxic chemicals can lead to sickness and the use of inadequate amounts of water can result in poor hygiene. It is therefore essential to assess the quality of drinking water in any region before trying to find the remedies or solutions to change raw water into safe drinking water. Continuous monitoring of selected parameters in drinking water is also a vital activity to maintain the supply of safe drinking water.
The quality of water is assessed and monitored for both micro-biological and chemical parameters, in addition to other parameters that might cause rejection of water (such as turbidity, taste, colour and odour).
It is strongly recommended that projects follow World Health Organization's 'Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality' in this assessment and monitoring.
The following is a summary of the parameters that need to be tested to assess water quality. These could be slightly adjusted to fit the specific local situation:
Supply Division has identified testing kits and apparatus that can be used for water quality assessment and monitoring from several dependable sources. When submitting an order, UNICEF Country Offices and external customers are requested to list the parameters that need to be tested so that Supply Division (Technical Services Centre) can recommend the most appropriate testing kit.
The special attention given to arsenic in water in recent years has led to the development of field testing kits that are accurate enough to assess the level of arsenic contamination. These kits are affordable and simple to use after reasonable training of the technicians.
A new kit has been developed recently that could help in the digital measurement of arsenic level without depending on the judgment of the technicians eyes to detect the difference between colour shades on the colour strip. This new kit might be included in some portable water assessment laboratories to make them capable of covering the whole spectrum of the parameters to be tested.
Concerned Country Offices are encouraged to discuss their needs for arsenic determination with Supply Division (Technical Services Centre) in order to select the most appropriate kits for their needs.
Supply Division has developed a standard specification for Guinea worm filters. This standard specification is included in the UNICEF Supply Catalogue under catalogue number: 0005900.
The specification is the result of consultations with the World Health Organization, the Carter Centre (USA), the Danish Technical Institute (Denmark), the Centre de Recherche sur les Meningistes et les Schistosomoses (France), and the Dansk Bilharziose Laboratorium (Denmark).
This standard specification should be used for all procurement of Guinea worm filters, whether through Supply Division in Copenhagen or through local or regional procurement by UNICEF Country Offices (ref. CF/SD/2001-004 dated 9 Feb. 2001).
In emergency situations, immediate and reliable access to safe water and sanitation facilities makes a tremendous difference in the survival and health of children.
Based on its long experience, UNICEF Supply Division has identified some WES supplies that are particularly useful in emergencies. Supply Division is developing some specifications for additional WES emergency supplies for camps and communities that would be required in the second stage of intervention, after the initial emergency response.
Supply Division has also developed a new WES kit to assist families to get access to safe water and sanitation. This kit will be available under catalogue number: 9901100: Basic Family Water Kit.