Humanitarian water filter: 200 ORISA® units deployed in Lebanon

200 ORISA water filters deployed in Lebanon by Action Against Hunger

In the Qaa-Hermel region of Lebanon, access to safe water remains a major challenge for Syrian refugees living in informal settlements. Around 70 % of agricultural wells in the area are contaminated with bacteria, increasing the risk of waterborne diseases. To address this issue, Action Against Hunger has distributed 200 ORISA^® water filters to families. Several months after their distribution, ACF teams carried out a survey among beneficiaries to assess their usage and impact on daily life.

The results show a high level of uptake: 95 % of households surveyed use ORISA^® daily and 98 % have noticed an improvement in the quality of their water.

Access to drinking water: a challenge for Syrian refugees in Lebanon

In this region of north-eastern Lebanon, Syrian refugee families live in informal settlements (ITS), particularly in the heart of agricultural areas. Access to safe drinking water is a major public health issue there. Around 70 % of agricultural wells around Qaa-Hermel are bacteriologically contaminated. This water contamination, combined with sanitation conditions that are sometimes inadequate in certain camps, contributes to the spread of waterborne diseases.

Action Against Hunger has therefore sought sustainable and economically viable solutions enabling local communities to treat the water resources available on site themselves.

200 ORISA^® humanitarian water filters distributed by Action Against Hunger

As part of this intervention, Action Against Hunger selected two water treatment systems: a centralised solution at camp level and ORISA^®, used as a household filtration system at family level.

A total of 200 ORISA^® water filters were distributed in 2025. As ORISA^® operates without electricity, it enables beneficiaries to filter their water directly where they live. This self-sufficiency is particularly well-suited to informal settlements and areas where access to infrastructure and energy may be limited. However, simply deploying water filtration equipment is not enough: the local communities’ ownership of the system is crucial to ensuring its long-term use. Action Against Hunger teams therefore supported the distributions by providing individual training on the use and maintenance of ORISA^®. Local representatives were also trained to support beneficiaries alongside the field teams.

A survey of 99 households to assess the impact of ORISA^® filters

A few months after the roll-out, Action Against Hunger’s MEAL team in Lebanon carried out a post-distribution monitoring (PDM) exercise to assess the actual use of the filters and their impact on the daily lives of beneficiaries.

A total of 99 households were interviewed in six localities in the Qaa-Hermel region: Qaa Jouar Maqiyeh, Qaa Baayoun, Hermel, Fakehe, Qaa Ouadi el Khanzir and Nabi Osmane. The study focused in particular on the frequency of filter use, the perceived quality of the water, household expenditure, health, and the use and maintenance of the equipment.

95 % of households use ORISA^® every day

One of the key findings from the monitoring carried out by Action Against Hunger concerns the beneficiaries’ adoption of the filter.

95 % of the households surveyed reported using ORISA^® every day.

And filtration is not merely used as a supplementary measure: 95 % of respondents also stated that ORISA^® is their main source of drinking water.

Only a few households continue to rely on bottled water or water delivered by lorry. These results demonstrate how the filtration system has become an integral part of families’ daily lives.

©ACF

98 % of beneficiaries have noticed an improvement in their water supply

The monitoring carried out by ACF also highlights a significant improvement in the perceived quality of the water.

98 % of households report an improvement in the taste, smell or clarity of their water following filtration.

Furthermore, 98 % say they feel safer drinking water filtered by ORISA^® than water from the sources they used previously.

Action Against Hunger therefore concludes in its analysis that the ORISA^® filtration system has been very well received by beneficiaries and has become firmly established in their daily lives.

A reported decline in waterborne diseases

The study also looked at changes in the health of the beneficiaries.

Among the households surveyed, 17 % reported that at least one member of their family had been affected by a water-related illness, notably acute watery diarrhoea or hepatitis A.

Of these families, 82 % reported a reduction in such illnesses since using ORISA^®. These data are based on beneficiaries’ reports and do not, on their own, establish a medical causal link. Nevertheless, they constitute an important indicator in the evaluation carried out by Action Against Hunger.

Water-related expenditure reduced for 55 per cent of households

Before receiving their filter, 57 % of those surveyed said they spent money to access safe water, with an average expenditure of around 3.7 million Lebanese pounds per month.

Following the roll-out of the filters, 55 % of households reported a reduction in their water-related expenditure.

Enabling families to treat a locally available resource themselves thus helps to reduce their dependence on purchasing or transporting drinking water.

Training beneficiaries to ensure sustainable water filtration

Supporting beneficiaries is a crucial part of household water filtration programmes.

Each household must be able to use its equipment independently, but also to maintain it over the long term.

As part of the project, 100 % of those surveyed reported having received training or information on the use and maintenance of ORISA^®. All respondents also stated that they were confident in their ability to use and maintain the system.

This sense of ownership helps to embed access to safe water into families’ daily lives, beyond the distribution phase alone.

Purificateur ORISA dans un seau pour aider et répondre à l'urgence humanitaire suite au cyclone Chido à Mayotte

The ORISA^® humanitarian water filter: a self-contained solution that brings clean water directly to families

In humanitarian contexts, constraints on access to water vary greatly depending on the area: refugee camps, remote rural areas, natural disasters, conflicts, epidemics or population displacement.

Household water filtration enables action to be taken directly at household level, giving beneficiaries the means to treat their own water. The intervention carried out by Action Against Hunger in Lebanon now makes it possible to measure the level of adoption in concrete terms several months after distribution:

95 % use ORISA^® daily, 95 % use it as their main source of drinking water, 98 per cent have noticed an improvement in their water quality, and 55 % report having reduced their water-related expenditure.

Beyond simply providing the equipment, the monitoring results thus demonstrate the importance of combining equipment suited to local conditions, training for beneficiaries and local support to ensure sustainable access to safe water.

Delphine Thébaud, membre du service commercial de Fonto de vivo

Expertise born of humanitarian experience

ORISA^® was conceived on the basis of the field experience of David Monnier, a former humanitarian worker and one of the company’s original co-founders, and developed in response to a set of specifications drawn up in collaboration with major French and international NGOs: Médecins sans Frontières, Croix Rouge Française, Solidarités International, Médecins du Monde, Handicap International, Terres des Hommes Lausanne, Premières Urgences.