Innovative Solutions to Global Health Challenges: Dr. BP Agrawal's Rainwater Harvesting System and Mobile Health Clinics

Strategic Insights -

Dr. BP Agrawal's innovative approaches to addressing global health challenges are gaining recognition, including the 2010 $100,000 Lemelson-MIT Award for Sustainability. His community-driven rainwater harvesting system, Aakash Ganga (AG), and mobile health clinics, Arogya Ghar, have the potential to significantly improve the global public health system and quality of life for villagers in rural India.

Key Takeaways:

  • Dr. BP Agrawal's rainwater harvesting system, Aakash Ganga (AG), has helped 10,000 villagers gain access to clean water in six drought-prone villages in Rajasthan, India.
  • AG system has been successful in providing 10-12 liters of water daily to every person in an entire village for a year, and has almost doubled the number of houses included in the original plan.
  • The Indian government's Ministry of Rural Development has expressed interest in implementing AG in 40 villages, benefiting 100,000 people.
  • Agrawal's mobile health clinics, Arogya Ghar, aim to alleviate the shortage of trained medical staff and improve standardized treatment protocols for common ailments and preventable diseases in India.
  • Arogya clinics are owned and operated by high-school educated young women who deliver care door-to-door, after receiving training in healthcare and for-profit ventures.
  • Arogya has the potential to reach 100,000 people by 2012, delivering care through 50 villages with the collaboration of USAID, the World Health Organization, UNICEF, and social investors.
  • Agrawal's approach demonstrates a hybrid of a social enterprise and a public-private-community partnership, attentive to social issues surrounding caste, class, and gender.
  • The Lemelson-MIT Program recognized Agrawal's accomplishments through the 2010 $100,000 Lemelson-MIT Award for Sustainability, highlighting his inventive spirit and ability to merge technology and tradition.

Statistics:

  • Eighty percent of health problems and five million deaths per year in developing countries are linked to inadequate water and sanitation.
  • 70 percent of harvested water is sold or used for individual families, while the rest goes to horticulture.
  • AG's execution plan involves villagers renting their rooftops to others, enabling them to sell water and collect "free money."
  • Treatment through Arogya clinics costs approximately 25 cents per visit.
  • Agrawal's Sustainable Innovations, a non-profit, aims to build self-sustaining social enterprises.

Sources:

  • World Water Development Report 2009
  • Lemelson-MIT Program announcement of Agrawal as the 2010 $100,000 Lemelson-MIT Award for Sustainability recipient
  • Aakash Ganga (AG) project documentation
  • Arogya Ghar (Arogya) project documentation
  • The Lemelson Foundation
  • School of Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • World Bank Development Marketplace