France-based Air Water International Group, has launched a machine that could extract humidity in the air and transform it into water for domestic and industrial consumption. The product, which is the first to be launched in Africa, could harvest more than 50 liters of drinking water for domestic use and five thousand liters for farming and other commercial use.
The Deputy Minister of Defence, William Ofori Boafo, who launched the product in Accra, said conventional solutions to procure additional fresh water dams and desalination plants should be complemented, to meet the ever-increasing demand for potable water. He said lack of fresh water is one of the most critical challenges facing mankind stressing that more than one point one billion people lack access to safe drinking water worldwide.
Mr. Boafo said the UN has declared water as a global crisis since 55 nations are unlikely to meet their water related Millennium Development Goal target. He noted that constant supply of potable water would translate to vast improvement in human health and life expectancy, drastic reduction in health costs from the perpetual daily task of people carrying water and a potential for previously unattainable economic development.
The Deputy Minister of Information and National Orientation, frank Agyekum who chaired the function, observed that water, which is major resource in life is being threatened by climatic change and also becoming a source of conflicts. He therefore expressed joy that the machine is contributing to the innovative means to ensure sustainable water supply.