Household water filters and waterborne epidemics: a case study from South Sudan

In 2016, the Technical Working Group (TWiG) of the national WaSH Cluster of South Sudan focused on water filter technologies in order to assess the suitability of the many filter products available for application in WaSH interventions within South Sudan. However, the TWiG didn’t analyse past disasters and water borne epidemics together with endemic diseases, and this paper wants to identify if there are and which are the criteria and information to be considered to choose the best filter (or other water treatment) to be distributed. Even if further specific research is needed, it looks clear that the analysis of historical epidemics of waterborne diseases in the area of intervention, together with considerations about the general context and technical characteristics of the available treatment devices, can help to identify the best water treatment solutions.