By Chris Njoku
Rotary Club in collaboration with some of its foreign partners like Environ Focus has donated and installed membrane ultrafilters in 10 hospitals in the Niger Delta region to provide portable drinking water.
This was confirmed by Mr Dennis Isueken, President of the Rotary Club of Calabar -Tinapa, during the Inauguration of one of the projects on Thursday in Asi Ukpo Hospital and Cancer Centre, Calabar.
A membrane ultrafilter is an equipment that helps in ensuring that there is a barrier that separates harmful bacteria, viruses and other contaminants from clean water.
It ensures that suspended particles that are too large to pass through the membrane stick to the outer membrane surface allowing only fresh water and dissolved minerals to pass through.
Isueken said the project became necessary as part of the club’s effort to eradicate issues around water sanitation and hygiene in the nation.
“By providing this water filter, it is expected that around here we are trying to eradicate waterborne diseases.
“For Cross River, we had to carry out our feasibility study to confirm the sustainability mechanism of various hospitals and we discovered that Asi Ukpo Hospital and Cancer Centre qualified for the facility to be installed in its premises.
“The provision and installation of each of these filters cost over N1 million and Rotary is providing 10 to hospitals in 10 Niger Delta states of Nigeria,” he said.
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He noted that they ensured that wherever the equipment was installed, the health facility would be able to maintain it effectively to ensure continuous provision of portable drinking water for the people.
He used the opportunity to appeal to the government at all levels to ensure that equipment like these were installed in communities after the installation of water facilities to ensure the reduction of waterborne diseases.
Responding Mr Yegwa Ukpo, Executive Director of Asi Ukpo Hospital and Comprehensive Cancer Centre thanked Rotary Club for selecting his facility.
Ukpo said they had always thought of ways to move from just being a medical facility where people came to access care to impacting the general community.
“This project will help us move further in that direction because access to free potable water is one of the most critical issues in the world today because of climate change.
“Today we will be touching more lives with clean and potable drinking water with support from Rotary Club,” he maintained.