Unilever Philippines is asking us a question “Sure Ka Ba?” , the equivalent of “Are You Sure?” in the vernacular. To what issue does this question pertain to? The answer: Safety of our Drinking Water.

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The Pureit “Sure Ka Ba?” Launch

Last September 2nd, Unilever Philippines launched the Pureit “Sure Ka Ba?” Campaign, a water safety awareness initiative among household consumers. The company has long been working to be part of the solution about the ongoing problem in lack of availability of safe drinking water in many parts of the world or even in our own country for that matter. It should be noted that the United Nations Children’s Fund lists diarrhea, cholera, and typhoid fever as some of the deadly diseases that can be triggered by drinking contaminated water.

As part of its ongoing effort to address this concern, Unilever has introduced Pureit Excella, an in-home, non-electric water purifier that converts tap water into clean and safe drinking water. Pureit has an advanced five-step purification process that eliminates 99.9999% of bacteria, viruses and parasites to meet the stringent safety standards of the US Environmental Protection Agency. Unilever also took the opportunity to introduce its two latest water purification devices namely the Marvella UV and the Marvella RO.

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During the launch, media guests watched a product demonstration showing the efficacy of Pureit in eliminating microscopic disease-causing germs and bacteria. The demonstration was conducted by the Unilever Research and Development team and a microbiologist from SGS, the world’s leading inspection, verification, testing, and certification company. Simply put, we got a first-hand confirmation of the fact that even in what appears to be clean water, there is always that danger of being victimized by contaminated water without sufficient protection and prevention devices.

Unilever Sustainable Living Plan

The “Sure Ka Ba?” Campaign is not merely an isolated effort of Unilever towards health and wellness of its consumers and the general population. This campaign which aims to bring safe drinking water closer to Filipino families is in fact a part of a wide-scale plan towards the cause of ensuring not only health and wellness but also in addressing environment, nutrition, and livelihood concerns in a global scale. Unilever Philippines Vice President for Home Care and Foods Benjie Yap no less gave this assurance to the audience.

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The Water Refilling Station Option

According to the 2013 Kantar Worldpanel In-Home Packaged Water Report, about 60% of urban households buy drinking water from water refilling stations. Although this is actually a good option if water refilling stations strictly abide by the regulations and guidelines set by the Department of Health in handling, storage, and delivery of containers, what is happening in the real world should make us think twice. Contamination of delivered drinking water is very possible due to human factors. Once any of the guidelines is breached, the whole process of water purification becomes questionable.

Here is a video showing how a typical water refilling station processes an order of a customer. This is not to put all water refilling stations in a bad light but is rather a call to action to those who may have become lax in their safety processes. The delivery of contaminated water even without an intention to do so has too much of a deadly consequence to be ignored.

 

 

My Say

Given the many factors that come into play when we get our drinking water from a source that cannot completely eliminate the risks of contamination, the option to purify water within the safe confines of our own home appears to be very sensible and practical. With the availability of a water purifying device that is within the economic reach of most Filipinos such as Pureit, it becomes a viable option. The decision is in your hands.

 

Pureit demo units will be on display at the Avida Showroom in Glorietta Center, Makati City for the month of September.  Avida supports Unilever and Pureit in their effort to provide households with access to safe drinking water to ensure good health.