In Zambia, more than half the population draws their water from an unimproved source, putting them at significant risk of diarrheal diseases, including cholera. Poor sanitary conditions, limited access to safe water and poor hygiene practices all contribute to diarrheal disease. People Living with HIV and AIDS (PLWHA) are at particularly high risk of diarrheal disease.

Fifty-nine year old Jacob Simbeye lives with his wife and five orphaned grandchildren in Chazanga Compound, Lusaka. Working at the Bwafwano Community Home Based Care Center, he’s seen first-hand the toll unsafe water has taken on PLWHA: “People mistakenly believed that if water came out of a pipe, then it was safe to drink. As a result, diarrheal diseases used to be very common in our community.” With funding from PEPFAR, PSI’s Zambian affiliate Society for Family Health (SFH) distributes bottles of Clorin—a locally produced, inexpensive and simple-to-use household water treatment—to home-based care (HBC) programs nationwide and provides information around correct and consistent use of Clorin as well as broader hand-washing and sanitation messages.

Jacob was one of the caregivers who received training to educate his peers on correct and consistent use of Clorin. Jacob passes that knowledge on to both clients and their families and checks to make sure they have enough Clorin. The health improvements Jacob has seen in his community makes it all worthwhile. As he reflects, “Once we started using Clorin, diarrhea cases went down tremendously and people are much healthier.”