Portable Water Purification Systems - Essay Example

? Portable Water Purification Systems Insert Insert Grade Insert Introduction Nearly three quarters of the earth’s surface is covered with water, but it is puzzling to note that only 30% of this is safe for use by human beings (Demitry, 2011). Water is the single most important requirement for the survival of human beings and any other living thing in the surface of the earth. From quenching thirst of millions daily to regular sanitation, water is one of the most used commodity in the world today and therefore lack of it can be of great detriment to the population. With a fast growing world population, demand for water has massively been on the rise. The need for not only safe but also clean water ideal for human consumption has been a great challenge to the developing world. This has been further compounded on by contamination of the scarce water resources in those areas by various contaminators such as animal waste, human disposal waste, landfills, leaching and other industrial wastes. In addition, these countries might not have adequate infrastructure to enhance clean water supply. This report therefore outlines a marketing plan for the supply of water in one of the developing countries in Africa that has faced the problem of purified water supply- Sudan. It will outline how the provision of reverse osmosis units and portable purifiers for households in the country who have been worst hit by the problem of obtaining safe water for domestic use. Marketing of products for the improvement of living standards is an essential component for the sensitization of populations that may be helpless and even ill informed on the modern and simple methods of purifying and conserving water for domestic use. A good example of a similar project in the area that has been a success because of appropriate marketing is the provision of mosquito nets in the area to reduce spread of malaria. Portable Water Purifier, Its Features, and Benefits This plan has considered various factors before it identified the most appropriate water-purifying product for promotion in the proposed area. The major factors taken into account before arriving at the best product included type and amount of water contaminants in the area, cost of equipment purchase, operation and maintenance costs, usability and the space needed for operation or storage. Portable water purifiers are simple household gadgets made out of locally available materials to enable as many households or communities as possible to have access to clean water. The product is designed to enable filtration and purification of water through layers of pebbles that can be replaced with clean sand and then the filtered water is taken through a purification chamber where chlorination takes place. All of these are in a ten litres container that makes it possible to obtain safe and pure drinking water from the highly sedimented and contaminated water from the rivers and boreholes in the region. The portable water purifier is therefore a simple and manageable product that is easily adoptable by the population because of its straightforward use and the relatively lower costs of purchase and maintenance. It has three main components in terms of the sections that make its purification, filtration and storage functions possible. First is the filtration segment or compartment that is at the top most section of the container. This has been placed next to the opening where the water to be purified is poured in through. It originally comes with clean pebbles for sedimentation of foreign particles mostly found in water harvested from rivers and other water sources in the region. The flow of water into the filtration chamber is regulated by a narrowly designed opening so that the filtration process is gradual and hence all particles are eliminated at this stage. The adjacent chamber is that of chlorination or purification through sterilization. There are granules in this chamber that aid in this method. To ensure that this is cost effective, the granules can be used in at least ten purification processes produce at least 90 litres of water. The replacement granules are provided with the kits and are also to be made available locally at affordable prices. This will ensure that the product is a dependable solution to the water purification process in the area of implementation. The last section of the container is where the filtered and purified water is finally collected and is ready for use after less than thirty minutes. The lower chamber is fitted with an improvised tap to facilitate water outflow. The tap has been fitted in a manner that it reduces wastage by eliminating leakages and spillages during use of the purified water. This product will be of great benefit to the people of Sudan. It helps the rural and poor Sudanese to have means of gaining access to clean and purified water through their own initiative and therefore reducing dependence on few wealthy individuals or the government. In this way, it creates a realizable way of making sure that families who cannot afford water from several vendors operating in the country have alternative means of obtaining the required commodity at individual level. Another practicable benefit of this product is that it can be easily adopted in social institutions and learning establishments like schools because it is easy to handle. In addition to this, the product is portable hence appropriate for the pastoralist communities living in the nation. Moreover, the product is simple to operate and therefore it can be easily be adopted by the uneducated rural population who may not understand instructions that are provided with most products available in the market currently. Rationale for Product Promotion in Sudan Sudan is the 10th largest country in the world with a population numbering about 41 million people as at July 2010 estimates. With a growth rate of about 2% and a young population that consists of 90% of people aged between 0-60 years, the country is among the populous states of the African continent (The Sudan Net, 2012). In terms of land mass, the country is also one of the largest in the continent even though the separation of the country into two nations of the south and north may have left it with a smaller area in terms of geographical boundaries. In terms of climate that has also impacted on the subject of this report, the country is majorly arid with some parts of the northern region extending to a desert type climate. River Nile is the main source of livelihood in the region because it provides the main source of permanent water supply to the mostly arid region that has sporadic rainfall (Barton, 2012). To understand the main reason for this product’s promotion, it is important to understand the situation in the country with relation to water availability and reliability. To begin, Sudan is grappling with a major challenge identical with any developing nation in the continent and the world. The country has the task of making sure that its population has the means of efficient and cost effective means of water purification. Statistically, studies have shown that about 13.9 million out of Sudan’s total population of almost 42 million are yet to have access to appropriate sanitation and a further 11.4 million do not have access to clean and purified water fit for human consumption (UNICEF, 2008). Consequently, this has resulted in adverse fatalities in the country. For instance, it is indicated that one out of four children dies in Sudan before attaining the age of five years from kidney failure and water borne diseases like diarrhoea (UNICEF, 2008). Conversely, the UNICEF reports that the diseases that have snatched these precious lives can be easily eliminated and brought into control if the population is equipped with modern water purification methods. In the city of Khartoum, the country’s commercial and administrative capital, the situation is still worse. With population of about 8 million and despite its location near the Nile River, the city still lacks adequate water supply to households. For instance, it is estimated that about 400,000 cubic meters per day is still needed in the public drinking water system (KSWC, 2008). The Sudan Tribune (2011), in its 12th May issue reports that the streets of Khartoum experienced massive protests as a consequence of biting water shortage. This may relay the crisis that has been facing the country. It is therefore clear that as the capital still looks for ways of reducing the deficit in the supply of clean and safe drinking water, the rural population will still be waiting on the sidelines. This has also made the more vulnerable to individuals with positions of influence. A good example is that of warlords that have taken advantage of this situation with other economic constraints to intimidate and continue to recruit youth in their illegal activities (Sullivan, 2010). This problem is therefore more than a humanitarian but an empowerment issue that needs to be addressed. In recognition of the financial drawbacks that may be involved in massive installations of water treatment plants, this product provides a short-term solution to the problem. Its gains in terms of reducing the costs of treating the diseases associated with unsafe water, for example, are massive. To be more specific in the way this product may help to improve living standards of the Sudanese population, it is important o note that according to estimates, the medication costs are unaffordable for most of the population in the rural areas. For example, the cost of a check-up ranges from 5 to 7 US$ (FMH, 2012). Generally, the cost of purchasing medication for water borne diseases ranges from US$ 7 to 10 for cheaper generic drugs and antibiotics. As a result, the poor are left out of the medication option and have to look for other cost effective and realizable means of getting access to water and that is what this product provides them with. This product is therefore an empowering tool of the rural population that will go a long way in the provision of access to clean drinking water. Having looked at the various statistics and indications that point at a serious purified water shortage in the country, it remains one of the most viable options for sustainable water provision to the needy. For the success of this product, it is important to review the external environment of the country that will influence the success of this product as proposed by Cateora, Gilly and Graham (2011). The Country’s Economic, Political, Legal, And Socio-Cultural Environment Sudan’s economy has been characterized by rising inflation that has made its economy subject to a lot of instability. The country largely depends on oil deposits that have experienced shut downs because of the tensions that have existed between the country and its neighbouring south Sudan. This has affected expenditure on primary infrastructural facilities that are very important for economic growth. A political agreement that led to the establishment of the new Republic of South Sudan in July 2011 may have brought some opportunity for reduction of unrests and political instability that have largely influenced the country’s economic growth and investor attractiveness. However, the country is still aging behind because it has taken very limited steps to ensure that its growth and productivity prospects are high. In the retrospect, it has continue to rely on taxation by extending the tax base which has in turn negatively influenced the growth of small and medium enterprises in the country. The large informal economy has been an important source of employment in the fragile economy. Apart from the booming oil sector, the nation’s economic outlook has remained poor as a result of frequent politically instigated unrests that create instability in the business environment. The country has not fully adopted means of avoiding overreliance on oil exports because the government of the day has lacked the institutional capacity to do so. The Heritage Foundation (2012) says that there are virtually no regulations governing investment and banking in the country, the few that are available can be politically manipulated, and this discourages investment at both local and international fronts. The long-term growth and development of the country is therefore facing a gloomy feature because it has continued to discourage potential investors and the structures in place are susceptible to corrupt malpractices. The country’s largely Islamic law governing principles are restrictive to business set up. The population is largely Muslim and Arab speaking. The president’s warrant of arrest has also compounded on the country’s bad image. The country has to struggle after being slapped with sanctions by several economic giants such as the United States and European Nations. Even a friendly state like China has not made effort to alleviate the country from its economic downfall. Analysts even suggest that the Chinese have further made investment into the country impossible by supporting market restrictive regulations in their favour. Consequently, the country has remained risky for business especially on the political front. Although the country has resolved a crisis that led to its separation with south Sudan, it is yet to fully settle because of unresolved issue of the peace agreement. There have been numerous domestic unrests in the country an example being in the region that boarders Chad. The social environment has been greatly influenced by the current situation and therefore market penetration can be major problem in the country. Target Market, Competition and the Marketing Objectives The target market for this project is the rural populations that need the product most. There are few competitors in the market because of the stated business environment and most of them are in form of non- profit making organizations. The poor who do not have the means of affording water from vendors will be mainly targeted as the main customers. The vendors are therefore regarded as other competitors even though they may be associates because they might be unable o guarantee the population of safe drinking water that this product assures. The plan will therefore involve strategic partnerships with several vendors and will also try to engage the local authorities and leadership for the promotion and distribution of the proposed product. The community based organizations and established social welfare groups like youth groups or women groups will also be identified for sampling of the product which will go a long way in the promotion of the product as well as sensitization of the community for the product’s usage. The product will therefore, be introduced in stages. The first stage will be a pilot stage where mostly groups and local leaders will be mobilized and given instructions or demonstrations on the product’s use. At this stage, the pricing will be lower and as the product has been adopted by several people in the second stage of individual sales, the pricing will be reviewed upwards and new ideas for the improvement of the product taken into account. At the third stage, the empowerment of the locals will be given priority so that villages can have their own source of clean water regardless of who has the biggest guns and wants to control the water supplies in the country. This is the main objective of this project. The marketing objectives will be to increase the acceptance of the product by 60% within four months of its launch, to create awareness through grass root mechanisms and make the product the choice of every household by the first year of its implementation. Conclusion Water is an essential component for the survival of humankind besides being a necessity for other processes and living things. Sudan has been fortunately been endowed with massive hydrocarbon resources that has steered its economy. However, the country still needs water supply for the benefit of its growing nation. The nation’s separation with the newly formed south Sudan republic was supposed to be a blessing more than a curse to its political environment and therefore the country’s leadership should wake up to this reality because it was because of their laxity to develop the nation that created the separation in the first place. Water purification will ensure that the rural households that have been worst hit by the country’s insufficient clean water resource are accorded such access. The proposed portable water-purifying unit is the most practical way of ensuring that the rural population is not left behind in clean water access and therefore this marketing plan is of great essence. The country’s political, social and economic environment has still remained unstable and it is for this reason that this plan proposes a three step strategy of market entry. The pricing strategy also ensures that the product gains foothold in the market for competitive advantage. References Barton , Alexandra. (2012). Water in Crisis- Spotlight in Sudan. Retrieved from http://thewaterproject.org/water-in-crisis-sudan.asp Cateora, P. R., Gilly, M. C., & Graham, J. L. (2011). International marketing, 15th ed. Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill Higher Education. Demitry, Morris Elya, (2011). "Simple and Appropriate Methods for Household Water Treatment" All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects. Paper 86. Retrieved from http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/gradreports/86 Federal Ministry of Health in Sudan (2012). Status Report On Macroeconomic Health Status. Retrieved from http://www.fmoh.gov.sd/English/index.php?id=5 Herman, Glenda and Jennings, Gregory (1996). Home Drinking Water Treatment Systems. North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service. Publication Number: HE-419 Khartoum State Water Corporation (KSWC). Report May 26, 2010. Retrieved from http://www.kswc.gov.sd Sullivan, Paul (2010). Perspective: Sudan – Land of Water and Thirst; War and Peace. Retrieved from http://www.circleofblue.org/waternews/2010/world/perspective-sudan-land-of- water-and-thirst-war-and-peace/ The Heritage Foundation (2012). 2012 Index of Economic Freedom: Sudan. Retrieved from http://www.heritage.org/index/country/sudan The Sudan net (2012). Fast Facts on Sudan. Retrieved from http://www.sudan.net/facts.php The Sudan tribune (2011). Water Shortage Leads to Street Protests in Sudan’s Capital. Retrieved from http://www.sudantribune.com/Water-shortage-leads-to-street,38870 UNICEF (2012). Water Treatment And Hygiene Education Protect Millions In Sudan. Retrieved from http://www.unicef.org/wash/sudan_35976.html Read More