A new project to install chlorine dispensers in parts of Burundi is helping to increase access to safe drinking water.

The project was initiated by Water for Development, a non-governmental organization, producing chlorine locally at a laboratory in western Burundi’s Cibitoke province to help purify the water.

A chlorine dispenser is installed next to a water point, helping residents to get the chlorine before drawing the water, according to Olivier Ndayihimbaze, the founder of Water for Development.

“When someone comes to fetch water, they first dispense a few drops of measured chlorine into the jerrycans and then draw the water. Within 30 minutes, the water is treated and protected against any further external recontamination,” Ndayihimbaze said in a video recording shared by the organization Sunday.

He said residents in this region have been experiencing the challenge of accessing clean drinking water.

Currently over 30 chlorine dispensers have been installed near water sources and schools, providing safe water to more than 50,000 people, he said.

Prosper Cishahayo, a chemist and head of chlorine production, explained that it takes about two hours to produce the chlorine, which is then distributed to the various water points.

The production process involves chemical transformation and electrolysis of salt water.

To get a homogeneous solution, salt and water are stirred before putting it in an apparatus that is used to produce the chlorine.

Nadine Umutoni, a mother of four, told Anadolu that their children no longer suffer from waterborne diseases thanks to the project’s initiative.

In 2019, UNICEF said that in countries like Burundi, nearly half of the population lacks access to clean, safe drinking water with a big challenge particularly for households in rural areas.

The lack of drinking water or the difficulty to access it are the primary causes of health problems among children under 5 years of age who are prone to waterborne diseases and malnutrition. - James Tasamba, Anadolu Agency

Brazzaville/Bujumbura – Health authorities in Burundi today declared an outbreak of circulating poliovirus type 2 (CVDPV 2) after confirming eight polioviruses, the first such detection in more than three decades.

The cases were confirmed in a four-year-old child in Isale district in western Burundi who had not received any polio vaccination, as well as in two other children who were contacts of the four-year-old boy. Additionally, five samples from environmental surveillance of wastewater confirmed the presence of the circulating poliovirus type 2.

“The detection of the circulating poliovirus type 2 shows the effectiveness of the country’s disease surveillance. Polio is highly infectious and timely action is critical in protecting children through effective vaccination,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Africa. “We are supporting the national efforts to ramp up polio vaccination to ensure that no child is missed and faces no risk of polio’s debilitating impact.”

The Burundian government—which has declared the detection of the virus a national public health emergency—plans to implement a vaccination campaign to combat polio in the coming weeks, aiming at protecting all eligible children (aged 0‒7 years old) against the virus.

The health authorities, with support from WHO and the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) partners, have also embarked on further epidemiological investigations, including risk assessments to determine the extent of the outbreak. Burundi is further bolstering polio surveillance, with WHO experts in the field supporting additional sample collection as well as assessing the possibility of opening of new environmental surveillance sites for early detection of silently circulating poliovirus.

Circulating poliovirus type 2 is the most prevalent form of polio in Africa and outbreaks of this type of poliovirus are the highest reported in the region, with more than 400 cases reported in 14 countries in 2022. Circulating poliovirus type 2 infection can occur when the weakened strain of the virus contained in the oral polio vaccine circulates among under-immunized populations for long periods.

Acute flaccid paralysis is defined by the acute onset of weakness or paralysis with reduced muscle tone in children. There are many infectious and non-infectious causes of acute flaccid paralysis. Polio is one cause of acute flaccid paralysis. Its early detection is critical in containing a potential outbreak. - World Health Organization