The North East inventor of ground-breaking water filtration technology says a means to helping fight Covid-19 in the developing world is waiting on his factory’s shelves.
Engineer John Griffith is the brains behind the Grifaid Community filter. Manufactured by Washington-based not-for-profit company The Safe Water Trust – of which Mr Griffiths is the director and founder – it is already in use in more than 2,000 schools and clinics in 40 countries.
The device removes all biological pathogens down to 0.01 microns without the need for spare parts, cartridges or electricity.
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It can produce safe water on demand at a flow rate of up to 300 litres per hour which can then be safely used for cleaning and drinking in hospitals, medical clinics and vaccination centres – helping in the fight against infections like Covid-19.
But Mr Griffith said if the world is to successfully tackle coronavirus, then access to clean water through simple solutions like the Grifaid Community filter needs to be made a priority in developing countries.
He said: “I was shocked to hear how many clinics are without access to drinking water. How can people be safely vaccinated and treated without clean water?
“Action needs to be taken now to provide safe water to clinics in poor countries if we are to conquer coronavirus worldwide. We have a simple solution waiting on our factory shelves.
“The supply of safe drinking water to healthcare environments can also help to prevent illness amongst healthcare professionals who are working at the frontline against Covid-19, and so support developing nations’ efforts to tackle the crisis.”
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A study from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation published in May last year concluded that without access to soap and clean water, two billion people in low and middle-income nations were at a greater risk of contracting and transmitting coronavirus than those in wealthy countries.
The Safe Water Trust has more than 10 years’ experience in developing Grifaid Water Filters and working with the disaster relief, humanitarian aid and overseas development sectors.
As well as Grifaid Community Filters, the trust also manufactures a more compact and lightweight version aimed at families that offers a method of cleaning water from lakes, wells or rivers that has a flow rate of 90 litres an hour.
Grifaid Water Filters also improve the lives of young people by reducing absences from school caused by waterborne disease, improving their education and employment prospects, and helping to break the cycle of poverty.
Three of the filters are currently in use in Derwan, India, after staff at South Tyneside Hospital through the SVJC Charitable Trust, raised money to buy them.
The filters were delivered in 2014 and are still in use today.
They have helped to significantly reduce waterborne diseases, as well as virtually eradicating roundworm infections which had previously been a major problem in the area.
Shelley Quantrill, senior theatre sister and chairman of SVJC Charitable Trust, said: “Since 2014 there have been direct improvements in the health of the local population. This is a demonstration of a major benefit from Grifaid Community filters in the field.”