Atlanta Journal-Constitution Examines CDC Clean Water Initiative That Uses Women’s AIDS Groups To Distribute Products

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Wednesday examined a CDC initiative promoting access to clean water in Kenya's Nyanza province, which has the country's highest HIV prevalence. Children under age five and adults with weakened immune systems who live in the province are "especially vulnerable" to waterborne diseases, such as cholera and typhoid. Beryl Audi and Alie Eleveld of CDC -- in conjunction with the local, not-for-profit organization Society of Women and AIDS in Kenya -- "operate like Avon ladies," traveling through the province's rural villages to sell a "simple" and "cheap" water-cleansing method to women, according to the Journal-Constitution. Audi and Eleveld "enlis[t] women to both use and distribute the Safe Water System and other health products" in order to "empower women who struggle against grinding poverty and customs that often work to their disadvantage," the Journal-Constitution reports. "We are promoting positive living. When people realize they can change their health in one area, by treating their water, it may open up their minds to change it in other areas," Eleveld said. Other Atlanta-based groups, including CARE and Emory University, also work with CDC to improve access to clean water in Nyanza, the Journal-Constitution reports (Clark, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 2/9).