Pictured (l-r): Prof. Kevin McGuigan (RCSI), Prof. Christabel Kambala (MUBAS), Mr Desire Mussa (MUBAS), Mr Hector Chilimanji (MUBAS), Ms Liz Kogoya (MUBAS), Dr Jakub Gajewski (RCSI), Dr Chiara Pitalis (RCSI)

Prof. Kevin McGuigan, and Dr Jakub Gajewski of RCSI University of Medicine and Health Science, with partner team lead, Prof. Christabel Yollandah Kambala, Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences, have won the SDG Challenge focused on SDG 13: Climate Action, with an innovative, low-cost solution to providing clean water to healthcare facilities in Malawi. The team was supported by Mr Martin Wesian, an entrepreneur, and consultant in the WASH sector, as its Societal Impact Champion.

Access to safe clean water is critical to health and the provision of essential health services. The impacts of climate change are exacerbating both water scarcity and water quality. In 2022, 27% of the world’s population had no access to safely managed water.

To address the health impacts of the climate crisis, the SURG-Water team has worked collaboratively with a range of local partners in Malawi to develop a fit-for-purpose solution addressing the shortage of clean water in maternal health facilities in rural areas. The team has developed a prototype solar disinfector technology to treat harvested rainwater using renewable solar UV. The team receives over €1.1 million in additional funding for the next two years, which they will use to continue testing and, ultimately, develop a scale-up plan for Malawi and surrounding countries.

Minister O’Donovan said: “I congratulate the SURG-Water team on winning the Science Foundation Ireland-Irish Aid Sustainable Development Goals Challenge. Their work over the last 18 months demonstrates the power of collaboration and how, by working together, we can make a real difference on a global scale, contributing to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. I look forward to watching the team progress their innovative solution over the next two years.”

Minister Fleming said: “The winning project is an exciting collaboration between experts in Ireland and Malawi that will have a real-world impact. Every year, over 17 million women in low-to-medium-income countries give birth in healthcare facilities without safe water. The SURG-Water project has the potential to address this problem, helping to prevent potential life threatening infections for women and their babies.”

Dr Ruth Freeman, Director, Science for Society, SFI, said: “The SDG 13 Challenge funding programme seeks to enable transdisciplinary research teams in co-developing solutions directly with those most affected by the impacts of climate change. The teams involved in this challenge exemplify that goal, and the progress they have made over the last 18 months is truly inspiring. I would like to thank Irish Aid for collaborating with SFI on this programme, supporting such essential, SDG-focused research.”

The SURG-Water technology is a 250 L harvested rainwater solar disinfection (HRWSODIS) reactor treating rainwater collected from maternity ward roofs. In Malawi, the rainy season lasts 3-4 months, and sunlight is available for most of the year. This is a context-specific adaptation of an existing technology to the particular needs of healthcare facilities in rural Malawi. This innovation is a regionally reproducible solution, utilising freely available natural resources.

(L-R): Mr Jones Kayawe (Zambeef PLC),  Ms Naminda Momba (SAIPAR), Prof. Paul Coughlan (TCD), Prof. Aonghus McNabola (TCD), Ms Mangiza Chirwa Chongo (Societal Impact Champion), Ms Priscilla Dinga  (Zambeef PLC), Dr Madhu Murali (TCD), Mr Ezekiel Sekele (Zambeef PLC), Dr Godfrey Hampwaye (SAIPAR), Dr Danny Museteka (SAIPAR)

A runner-up prize was awarded to Prof. Aonghus McNabola and Prof. Padraig Carmody of Trinity College Dublin, and Dr Godfrey Hampwaye, Southern African Institute for Policy and Research (Zambia), for the REHEATZ project. In partnership with Ms Mangiza Chirwa Chongo, Hivos Zambia, the team is working to develop the first hybrid wastewater heat recovery technology for application in Zambian food production.

Zambian food processing relies heavily on the use of coal boilers to produce hot water. Emissions from coal combustion account for >32% of national total emissions. Reducing coal use would substantially reduce national emissions. During food production, hot water from coal boilers is used at temperatures of 60-90oC, and then discharged as wastewater at 30-70oC. Wastewater heat recovery (WWHR) technology transfers heat from hot wastewater to incoming cold feedwater, reducing the fuel required to heat the resulting lukewarm feedwater to temperatures required for food processing

The team will use the additional €650,000 funding over two years to complete the project’s pilot plants, which will be the world-first installations of WWHR technology demonstrated in an operational food processing environment in a tropical climate. They will build on the project’s success, raising awareness of the potential wastewater heat recovery technology for societal benefit in Zambia and, more broadly, Southern Africa.