AquAffirm announces initialisation of World Bank-funded pilot project in Punjab, Pakistan

Portable smartphone-enabled system with cloud-connectivity to be piloted across 13 Punjab tehsils, enabling real-time measurement of arsenic levels in drinking water
Funded by World Bank in association with Imagine H2O Asia
Announcement dated 26th August 2022

LONDON, UK – AquAffirm Ltd is pleased to announce that it has commenced a World Bank-funded pilot project to validate its cloud-connected AquAffirm™ digital sensor networking platform in Punjab, Pakistan together with local project partner, the Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR). The purpose of the pilot study is to assess AquAffirm’s patented digital sensor for real-time arsenic testing across over 250 wells in Punjab province. This $21,000 project is supported by the Water Technology Access Partnership (WTAP), a joint initiative between Imagine H2O Asia and The World Bank.

The AquAffirm™ platform uses an innovative smartphone-enabled design that includes disposable test strips, mobile app and web-connected software platform developed by the AquAffirm team. In this pilot project the teams will be assessing the usability and performance of the AquAffirm-As™ test by measuring and mapping tube wells in arsenic-affected areas of Punjab.
“We’re thrilled to have achieved this important milestone in the development of the technology and to be working with a team as experienced as PCRWR,” commented Dr David Sarphie, AquAffirm CEO. “We are also grateful for the tremendous work that the Imagine H2O Asia team put in to help secure this pilot project as well as for the support of the World Bank. We’ve now been over to the Punjab region several times to train the PCRWR team members and to initiate field trials and are confident our system, once fully deployed, will make a significant impact by raising awareness of the scale of the problem across the region.”

Links to videos produced by the WTAP/Imagine H2O Asia teams are provided below:
1. Interview with local partner (PCRWR) – footage: here
2. Video showing team in Punjab, Pakistan – footage: here

About Arsenic
Arsenic affects over 140 million people in 70 countries, including an estimated 40 million in Pakistan. Long-term exposure can lead to a variety of chronic health conditions, including skin disorders, cancers of the lung and bladder as well as cardiovascular issues, directly leading to hundreds of thousands of deaths globally each year.

About AquAffirm
AquAffirm develops proprietary digital tools/services to help clients from industry and the water sector reduce their environmental impact and improve sustainability. Specifically, AquAffirm is commercialising innovative digital smartphone-enabled point-of-use sensors and software platforms to help clients manage critical water infrastructure networks, control unwanted environmental contaminant release, and monitor/map environmental impact. As a service, AquAffirm also develops bespoke digital sensors specifically for its clients’ needs. AquAffirm’s long-term vision is to build a mobile-enabled network of sensors & software for water sustainability to include the most advanced digital water contaminant measurement platform for rapid measurement, monitoring and mapping of contaminants at the point-of-use.

Contact AquAffirm at: nanda.rahman@aquaffirm.com
+44 (0) 20 3095 7252