Without a doubt, the key to cholera prevention is clean water. That’s why Action Against Hunger’s teams in South Kivu Province, in eastern D.R. Congo, make providing access to it their priority. This month, noted photographer Jana Assenbrenerova set out to capture our cholera prevention efforts through her lens. In the images below, you’ll see our work in action.
There are multiple ways to treat water to prevent cholera from spreading and causing severe illness outbreaks in a local population. The quickest way is to use a few drops of chlorine in water collected from a lake, which makes it immediately safe to drink. One of our projects places volunteers from the region at locations along the lake shore, where they can offer free chlorine treatment to people who come to collect water. We also teach community members about simple, effective habits they can incorporate into their everyday lives to prevent water contamination. Thanks to our projects, the cholera rate in South Kivu is on the decline.