Providing safe access to clean water for maternal healthcare facilities in Malawi

When collaboration is key: a solar-driven solution to accessing safe water in rural health facilities enabled by the Sustainable Development Goals Challenge Fund. 

SURG-Water, led by Prof Kevin McGuigan and Dr Jakub Gajewski, RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, with Prof Christabel Yollanda Kambala, Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences (MUBAS), have developed a solar-driven water disinfection system to treat harvested rainwater. This project addresses the chronic lack of available safe water in Malawi, specifically in rural maternal healthcare facilities, where only around 3% of facilities have basic sanitation services meeting WHO standards.

The SURG-Water system collects rainwater from the roof of healthcare facilities, treats the water, and then delivers it directly into the maternal wards. The team has been supported by many advocates, including local communities, anthropologists, sociologists and translators, as well as entrepeeneur and consultant Dr Martin Wesian, the project’s Societal Impact Champion. Most recently, the team has joined forces with Zeze Kingston, a renowned Malawian Amapiano artist. Zeze has created a song entiled ‘Madzi’ (meaning water) which aims to help raise awareness of the importance of harvesting rainwater, supporting the adoption of, and building trust in the SURG-Water technology. Further information on the background of the song can be accessed in the BeWater podcast.

The SURG-Water team first undertook extensive engagement with communities across select districts in Malawi to fully understand water availability and quality in neonatal and maternal health facilities. They assessed the water needs for surgical instrument cleaning, hand washing and the basic hygiene needs of mothers and babies pre- and post-surgery. Following this, the team progressed to prototype development and testing, which saw engineers, clinicians and physicists collaborate to generate their first solar-UV disinfection reactor with a capacity of 250 L. The effectiveness, feasibility, and user experiences with the reactors were analysed and the project was successfully awarded ‘Prize Funding’ of €1.1 million under the Research Ireland-Irish Aid Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Challenge.

What makes this project special is not just the technology, it’s also how it was developed together with the people who will be using it on a daily basis. By adopting this approach of working together with end users, the impact is stronger, the adoption is greater and we can see the lives of mothers and newborn babies change for the better.

– Dr Jakub Gajewski, SURG-Water team co-lead, RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences

The SURG-Water team plans to further advance the reactor by redesigning it to incorporate local materials with the aim to move production to the workforce in Malawi. This could provide a new industry to the area and allow for the SURG-Water solution to be expanded to other facilities such as schools. The ‘Prize Funding’ is enabling the team to deploy and scale their solution nationally and to surrounding countries, making this a multidisciplinary project with a truly global impact.

SURG-Water are driving Ireland’s leadership in international development, supporting Irish Aid’s commitment to improving health and climate resilience in low-income countries. They are also delivering on the Irish Government’s commitment to achieving the UN SDGs: SDG 3 – Good Health and Wellbeing; SDG 6  – Clean Water and Sanitation; and SDG 13 – Climate Action.

Who is involved?

RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences, Irish Aid.

SURG-Water is funded under the Research Ireland – Irish Aid Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Challenge Programme. The SDG Challenge Programme is a partnership between Research Ireland and Irish Aid (Department of Foreign Affairs), whose purpose is to support transformative, sustainable solutions to contribute to addressing development challenges in Irish Aid’s partner countries.    

Find out more:

Project websiteProject website    Listen to Madzi by Zeze KingstonListen to Madzi by Zeze Kingston