WaterStep deploys 320 BleachMakers across Jamaica

AN international non-profit focused on safe water, sanitation and hygiene, WaterStep has announced a ‘Clean Care Jamaica: Parish Preparedness Project’. In partnership with Jamaican NGO Inspire and Serve WaterStep will place 320 of its BleachMakers across Jamaica, giving health facilities the ability to make their own chlorine disinfectant on site. Planning is being done in coordination with Jamaica’s Ministry of Health & Wellness. The WaterStep machines make chlorine bleach from salt, water and electricity. That allows hospitals and clinics confront infection control and sanitation without relying on supply chains, which often fail during hurricanes, floods and other emergencies. Under the proposed distribution plan, 280 units will go through the Ministry of Health & Wellness to Jamaica’s four regional health authorities.

After Hurricane Melissa’s flood waters receded last year, WaterStep BleachMakers went to work in Catherine Hall, Jamaica, producing the disinfectant families need to stop disease before it spreads.

They will reach public hospitals, community hospitals and high-volume health centres in all 14 parishes. The South East Regional Health Authority will receive 100 units for Kingston and St Andrew, St Catherine and St Thomas, including major tertiary and specialist hospitals; while the Western Regional Health Authority will get 75 units for St James, Westmoreland, Hanover and Trelawny. In the meantime the Southern Regional Health Authority will get 60 units for Clarendon, Manchester and St Elizabeth, and the North-East Regional Health Authority will receive 45 units for St Ann, St Mary and Portland. Inspire and Serve will use 20 additional units directly for homes and care facilities it has identified in need. The remaining 20 units will be held in an emergency and storage reserve for replacement needs and rapid deployment after a disaster. In a media release WaterStep said channelling most of the units through the public health system gives the project one clear approval pathway. It also uses the regional and parish management structures Jamaica already has, so each unit goes where it is most needed and stays accountable.

Sancia Stewart-Williams, principal of Bethel Town Primary, holds up a BleachMaker while cleaning up after Hurricane Melissa last October.

The company, which is based in Kentucky in the United States, said final quantities for each facility will be confirmed by the health ministry and the regional health authorities. “When a storm hits, a hospital can’t wait weeks for a disinfectant shipment [while] it needs to protect patients that day,” said Mark Hogg, founder and CEO of WaterStep. “Clean Care Jamaica puts that power right inside the facility. Inspire and Serve knows these communities, and the ministry knows its health system. We’re honoured to bring the tools and the training, so Jamaica is ready before the next disaster, not after,” added Hogg. The Clean Care Jamaica national preparedness and deployment framework was developed by Jewel Daniels Radford, founder and managing director of Inspire and Serve, who serves as project lead for the Jamaica implementation. “Clean Care Jamaica demonstrates what is possible when local knowledge, trusted relationships and innovative solutions come together around a shared commitment to preparedness. It has been an incredible experience developing this framework with WaterStep and working alongside the Ministry of Health & Wellness. “We are proud that the Jamaica model can help inform future deployments and look forward to continuing this partnership in Jamaica and beyond,” said Radford. WaterStep will provide equipment and operator training. Inspire and Serve will lead in-country coordination and support for the facilities it serves.