Access to safe drinking water has always been a challenge in Yemen, increasingly so during the war. Elevated fluoride levels in groundwater sources is an endemic problem in several governorates, causing dental and skeletal fluorosis. The long-term effect of fluoride is known worldwide and is detrimental for infants, especially when malnourished. ZOA and Tezpur University conducted a pilot to introduce and test the Fluoride Nilogon filter.
Household-level fluoride removal
In 2021, ZOA and Tezpur University conducted a pilot to introduce and test the Fluoride Nilogon filter among 300 households in three villages in Lahj governorate. Fluoride levels reduced from 3.1 mg/l to less than 1.0 mg/l. Uptake of the low-cost technology among the people has been high.
The pilot has shown that the Fluoride Nilogon filter is an appropriate technology that successfully reduces fluoride levels in domestic water to within WHO-standards. Acceptance and uptake of the technology by the population has been very high as well. It is worth continuing the introduction of the Fluoride Nilogon filter in Yemen to other actors in the water sector to assure safe drinking water for all.