The devastating earthquake that hit southern Morocco last month killed many people, and destroyed homes, villages and vital infrastructure. Then only a week later, severe flooding in Libya claimed hundreds of lives, as well as destroying essential infrastructure.
In the immediate aftermath of disasters like this, there is a high risk of deadly water-borne diseases such as cholera – and the need to provide safe drinking water is critical in order to avoid further loss of life.
Since the disasters occurred, Aquabox has been working with its partners in the region to set up a secure supply route into the disaster zones. This work has now been completed, and early in October a large consignment of filters left the Aquabox depot in Derbyshire, bound for Morocco and Libya together with a substantial shipment of Aquabox Gold boxes, packed with mixed humanitarian aid.
Our partner in this response is International Emergency Team UK (IETUK), the FireAid-affiliated charity with whom we worked when responding to last year’s floods in southern Pakistan. IETUK has established a team of trusted distribution and delivery partners on the ground in both countries, and they will manage the distribution of our shipments to those most in need.
The joint consignment will include 250 Gold boxes, 20 community filters, and 288 family filters – enough to meet the daily water needs of more than 15,000 people. Our sincere thanks go to everyone who has supported our response to these two disasters.