Water

In Lao People’s Democratic Republic, a major study published in 2018 found that 86.3% of members had E. coli in household drinking water, indicating risk of diarrhoea and other waterborne diseases. Although a significant portion of the population treats water by boiling using woody biomass or charcoal to make it safe for drinking, many families cannot afford the time to gather firewood or purchase charcoal and are forced to continue drinking unsafe water.