Boiling of drinking-water: can a fuel-scarce community afford it?
Year: 1985
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: In the prevention of diarrhoea, health professionals often advocate boiling as a method of choice to provide safe household drinking-water to villagers in the less developed countries. We have examined the financial feasibility of this recommendation in a village study in Bangladesh. Family income was categorized and the pattern of household fuel consumption was determined. Families in the lowest income quartile would have to spend approximately 22% of their yearly income on fuel, and those in the highest income bracket approximately 10%. Boiling of drinking-water would result in an 11% increase in the household budget (as a percentage of income) for a typical family in the lowest income quartile, compared with a 3% increase for a family in the highest income quartile. We conclude that recommendations concerning boiling of drinking-water in developing countries should not be made until their economic feasibility has been demonstrated.
Source: Europe PMC (PubMed Central)
Authors: R H Gilman, P Skillicorn
Institution: Johns Hopkins University
Language: English
Subfield: Pollution
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2293551442