Deploying P&G Purifier of Water in a Drought Emergency

Somalia's 2026 drought has entered its fourth consecutive failed rainy season, and for an estimated 7.5 million people across 64 districts, the consequences are visible at the water point. As shallow wells dry up and rivers recede, emergency water trucking has become the primary WASH intervention across Gedo, Lower Juba, and Middle Juba. For NGO WASH teams working in these conditions, the critical question is not just how to distribute water but how to treat it safely when source quality is unknown. This is the operational case for deploying P&G Purifier of Water sachets — a tool developed specifically for high-turbidity water in emergency settings and available through our pre-positioned stock in East and Central Africa.

What Drought Conditions Do to Water Quality

Flood-affected water is typically turbid because of suspended sediment, overflow, and agricultural runoff. Drought-affected water presents a different set of problems. As rivers and wells recede, remaining sources concentrate organic matter, bacteria, and sediment into a smaller volume. Communities that previously relied on protected boreholes may find themselves drawing from hand-dug wells with high turbidity and uncertain contamination. Across Somalia's worst-affected areas in early 2026, more than 570,000 people faced acute water shortages in Gedo, Lower Juba, and Middle Juba, with water prices in some areas rising by over 2,000 percent as trucked supply became the only option.

Water transported by truck brings additional quality risks. Containers may carry residual contamination from previous loads; mixing points introduce new exposure; and by the time water reaches a household distribution point, its source and turbidity history are often unknown. This is a critical issue for chlorination-only treatment: if turbidity exceeds approximately 20 NTU, free chlorine cannot penetrate particulate matter to reach and neutralise pathogens. Standard tablet-based chlorination alone is not sufficient in these conditions. A two-step process — coagulation followed by disinfection — is required.

Why P&G Purifier of Water Sachets Fit This Scenario

P&G Purifier of Water sachets were developed in collaboration with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) specifically to address turbid, high-risk water. Each sachet treats 10 litres through a two-stage mechanism: ferric sulphate acts as a coagulant, binding suspended particles, sediment, and pathogens into clumps that settle to the bottom, while calcium hypochlorite delivers broad-spectrum disinfection against bacteria, viruses, and protozoa — including Vibrio cholerae, which remains endemic in Somalia and across East Africa's drought-affected regions. The product meets WHO guidelines and is approved by major humanitarian procurement bodies.

For field teams, the sachet format has clear operational advantages. Each unit treats a fixed 10-litre volume, eliminating the measurement errors that occur with bulk chemical dosing. No calibration equipment is needed. Training a community volunteer on the correct procedure takes under fifteen minutes. The sachets are lightweight, shelf-stable, and compact enough to include in standard NFI distribution kits — a genuine advantage when supply routes into drought-affected areas are constrained by fuel costs and road access. Global emergency organisations including CARE, Save the Children, and the IFRC have deployed P&G Purifier of Water sachets in emergency response since 2004.

We supply P&G Purifier of Water sachets across East and Central Africa, with pre-positioned stock available for rapid dispatch. Full product details are available on our WASH products page.

When Aquatabs Are the Better Operational Choice

P&G Purifier of Water is not always the right tool. In drought scenarios where the water source is a rehabilitated borehole, a protected spring, or a municipal supply with confirmed quality — and where turbidity is known to be below 20 NTU — Aquatabs (sodium dichloroisocyanurate tablets, manufactured by Medentech) are faster and simpler. The correct dose is added to a container, and after a 30-minute contact time the water is safe to drink. For community distribution at scale from a known, relatively clear water point, Aquatabs granules provide a high-volume, cost-efficient solution that integrates directly into WASH NFI kit pipelines.

Aquatabs are the standard water treatment included in most WASH NFI kits, pre-approved by UNICEF, WHO, and the WASH Cluster, and widely stocked in humanitarian pipelines across the region. The key operational question is: do you know the turbidity of your source water? In drought emergency water trucking operations, the answer is frequently no. When source quality is uncertain, P&G Purifier of Water is the safer default. We stock both products and can advise on volumes and packaging formats appropriate for your field context.

Deployment: Step-by-Step Procedure at a Distribution Point

When establishing a point-of-use treatment station at a drought emergency distribution point, the following procedure applies for P&G Purifier of Water. Fill a clean 10-litre container with source water. Open one sachet and pour it into the container, then stir vigorously for five minutes. Allow the water to stand undisturbed for five minutes while coagulated particles settle to the bottom. Pour the treated water through a clean cotton cloth into a second container to remove settled material. Wait a further 20 minutes for residual chlorine to complete disinfection. Cover and label the container as treated. Total time from source water to safe water: approximately 30 minutes per 10-litre batch.

For teams serving multiple households simultaneously, this process can be run in parallel across a sequence of clearly labelled containers. Field supervisors should also establish a basic quality check protocol: if source water has an oily film, an unusual colour, or is visibly contaminated beyond typical sediment, it should not be treated with sachets and an alternative source must be sought. A simple turbidity tube is a low-cost monitoring tool for ongoing source water assessment at distribution points.

Pre-Positioning Before the Procurement Window Closes

Somalia's 2026 drought response illustrates a procurement risk common across SLS's operating regions: funding is confirmed late, and by the time an organisation is ready to procure WASH consumables, demand has already driven up lead times. With Somalia's 2026 humanitarian response plan only 10.9 percent funded as of early 2026, procurement timelines are compressed and field-level supply gaps are routine. The organisations that maintain uninterrupted treatment capacity during a drought emergency are almost always those that pre-positioned their consumables before the peak response window opened.

Pre-positioning P&G Purifier of Water sachets and Aquatabs before a drought reaches its operational peak is the most effective way to ensure continuous WASH coverage. We maintain pre-positioned stock in Juba and Kampala and operate established logistics routes into Somalia, Ethiopia, and the wider East and Central Africa region. To discuss your requirements, check availability, or request product specifications, contact SLS directly.