The Evidence

Innovations for Poverty Action began researching outcomes related to safe water programs in 2003 in collaboration with researchers at Harvard University and the University of California, Berkeley.  The first study evaluated the effectiveness of protecting springs in rural areas where piped water is not cost-effective or feasible to implement.  This study found that protecting a spring increase the water quality at the source by 66%, but that much of this gain was lost due to unhygienic water collection and storage practices.  This finding highlights the importance of protecting against recontamination.

The research team then began investigating strategies to increase adoption of household chlorination, a water treatment technology that protects against recontamination.  It was during this period that the dispenser system was invented.

A randomized controlled trial was conducted in Kenya to compare the dispenser to other chlorination options.  This study found that dispensers were highly popular with communities: almost 60% of sampled households in communities with dispensers had detectible chlorine in their water, versus 7.5% for the control group both 18 and 30 months after the dispensers were first installed.  No other method of creating incentives for increasing usage of chlorine evaluated through this study had similar levels of sustained take-up.

“Chlorine dispensers have improved health in nearby communities, so my village is very excited to get a dispenser at our water source.  The dispenser makes treating water convenient and helps everyone to remember to use chlorine.” 

Karoli Samuel Ekesa, Community Health Worker, Khayo Dispensary