The consolidation of deep tube well technology in safe drinking water provision: the case of arsenic mitigation in rural Bangladesh

Kundu, Debasish Kumar; Vliet, B.J.M. van; Gupta, Aarti

doi:10.1080/19761597.2016.1190286

Cited by 13 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…The Government of Bangladesh with support from UNICEF scaled installation of about 10 million deep tube-well (hand pump) free of cost in the 1970s to improve access to safe drinking water [48]. Improved sanitation became a priority during the mid-1990s.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bangladesh: a success case in combating childhood diarrhoea

Billah

Raihana

Ali

et al. 2019

Journal of Global Health

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BackgroundBangladesh had a large reduction in childhood deaths due to diarrhoeal disease in recent decades. This paper explores the preventive, promotive, curative and contextual drivers that helped Bangladesh achieve this exemplary success.MethodsPrimary and secondary data collection approaches were used to document trends in reduction of Diarrhoea Specific Mortality Rate (DSMR) between 1980 and 2015, understand what policies and programmes played key roles, and estimate the contribution of specific interventions that were implemented during the period. Data acquisition involved relevant document reviews and in-depth interviews with key stake-holders. A systematic search of literature was undertaken to explore socio-economic, aetiological, behavioural, and nutritional drivers of diarrhoeal disease reduction in Bangladesh. Finally, we used LiST (Lives Saved Tool) to model the contributions of the relevant interventions during three time periods (1980-2015, 1980-2000 and 2000-2015), and to project the number of lives saved in 2030 (compared to 2015) if these interventions were implemented at near universal coverage (90%).ResultsThe factors which likely had the most impact on DSMR were the coordinated efforts of the Government of Bangladesh (GoB) with non-government organizations (NGOs) and the private sector that enabled swift implementation, at scale, of interventions like oral rehydration solution (ORS) and zinc, promotion of breastfeeding, handwashing and sanitary latrines (WASH), as well as improvements in female education and nutrition. Compared to 1980, we found ORS and reduction in stunting prevalence had the greatest impact on DSMR, saving roughly 70 000 lives combined in 2015. Until 2000, ORS had a higher contribution to DSMR reduction than reduction in stunting prevalence. This proportionate contribution was reversed during 2000-2015. At near universal coverage (90%) of combined direct diarrhoeal disease, nutrition and WASH interventions, we project that an additional 5356 deaths due to diarrhoea could be averted in 2030.ConclusionBangladesh’s achievement in reduction of DSMR highlights the important role of an enabling policy environment that fostered coordinated efforts of the public and private sectors and NGOs for maximal impact. To maintain this momentum, evidence-based interventions should be scaled up at universal coverage.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bangladesh: a success case in combating childhood diarrhoea

Billah

Raihana

Ali

et al. 2019

Journal of Global Health

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“…Crucially, the most preferred alternative safe drinking water option to contaminated shallow tube wells, the deep tube well (see Ref. [24], was not feasible to install in either village, due to the presence of highly saline water in the deep aquifers and hard gravel layers at 150 m depth in Payob and Bangala, respectively (DPHE, Muradnagar and Singair office, 2011 and 2014). As a result, several other arsenic mitigation technologies, including pond sand filter, rain water harvesting units and improved dug wells, had been installed in both villages at various points in time, all of which were abandoned within one year of their installation (as revealed during a consultation meeting with villagers).…”

Section: Methods and Approachesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experimenting with a novel technology for provision of safe drinking water in rural Bangladesh: The case of sub-surface arsenic removal (SAR)

Kundu

Gupta

Mol

et al. 2018

Technology in Society

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Subsurface Arsenic Removal (SAR) is a technique used for in-situ removal of naturally occurring arsenic in groundwater. This new technology was deployed recently on an experimental basis in two sites in rural Bangladesh, to address the pressing problem of rural drinking water supplies contaminated by arsenic. This article assesses whether and to what extent these first field experiments with SAR can be conceptualized as "socio-technical experiments" designed to incubate and improve radical technological innovations by serving as 'living lab", "window" and/or "agent of change". As per writings in transition theory, an experiment functions as a living lab if it permits testing, learning and improving upon a technological innovation. It functions as a window if it is able to facilitate communication and conversation by raising actors' interest and enrolling new actors. It functions as an agent of change if it can successfully stimulate changes in potential users' practices and behaviours. Through studying two SAR experiments, this article finds that this novel technology served as a living lab and window, but not (yet) as agent of change, partly because integrating social considerations (such as community buy-in, appropriate site selection and post-installation support) into SAR prototype design during field experimentation proved very difficult. A key obstacle was that the technical efficacy of the technology remained a primary concern during experimentation, and it was unsafe to make water deriving from experimental SAR units available to users. The technology thus remained an abstract idea and provided unable to stimulate behavioural changes amongst users. We conclude that there is a need to identify conditions under which real world experiments can serve as agents of change to facilitate sustainable uptake of arsenic safe technologies in rural developing country contexts.

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“…Approximately 62 percent of the 33,000 wells sampled had arsenic concentrations greater than 100 µg/L (Smith et al, 2000). Since this discovery, Bangladesh has introduced programs to reduce arsenic exposure from well water, which primarily involve drilling deeper wells that avoid the high arsenic levels found in the local shallow aquifers (Kundu et al, 2016).…”

Section: Box 2 -Domestic Well Contamination Discovered By Health Effectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Domestic Wells – Introduction and Overview

Drage¹

2022

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The consolidation of deep tube well technology in safe drinking water provision: the case of arsenic mitigation in rural Bangladesh

Cited by 13 publications

References 30 publications

Bangladesh: a success case in combating childhood diarrhoea

Bangladesh: a success case in combating childhood diarrhoea

Experimenting with a novel technology for provision of safe drinking water in rural Bangladesh: The case of sub-surface arsenic removal (SAR)

Domestic Wells – Introduction and Overview

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