98 % of the children in the developing world are dying due to water borne diseases. The people most at risk of arsenic poisoning are in Bangladesh, India and Nepal area. And it is mostly the children who succumb to water-related deaths due to diarrhoea.

Can nanotechnologies really help solve water problems in developing countries? There are two positive signs that they will, according to David J. Grimshaw, head of Practical Action’s international programme in new technologies and new technologies consultant for SciDev.Net.

First, water professionals and scientists are increasingly including local communities in dialogues to understand the problems with, and opportunities for, applying nanotechnology to water improvements.

Second, since the commercialization of nanotechnology is at an early stage, we can hope that such discussions — between researchers, communities and industry — will encourage scientists and businesses to develop appropriate business models to exploit their inventions.

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Tags: Diarrhoea, nanotechnology, Waterborne diseases