JAKARTA (AWW) - Ten-year-old Milvan will no longer have to  wake up early in the morning just to boil water for drinking, two weeks into  a 'new' water treatment solution launched by the Indonesian government.

   "I will just use Air Rahmat," Milvan said, referring to a water  additive introduced to Indonesians to get safe and cheap drinking water.

   For the two years, Milvan had been waking up at 5 a.m. to boil  water for his consumption throughout the day in school. "My parents  cannot afford to buy bottled water," said the Grade 5 student of Rawa  Barat State Elementary School No. 07 in South Jakarta.

   A 19-litre bottled water costs one U.S. dollar while a 100- millilitre bottle of Air Rahmat, which is enough to treat  approximately 660 litres of water or the average amount used in a  household of four in one month, costs less than 50 cents.

   Majority of Indonesians boil water, including water supplied by tap water companies in Jakarta, for drinking.

   Milvan's classmate, Bagus, had been boiling water, too for the past years. "We don't have a water dispenser at home," said Bagus.

   Besides boiling, Indonesians use solar disinfection and ceramic  filtering techniques to make water safe for drinking.

   Villagers in the far-flung province of East Nusa Tenggara  generally use solar disinfection technique. With solar disinfection, water is put into a transparent bottle, covered with a piece of black cloth, and put under direct sunlight for at least six hours on a clear day.

  Over 100 million people in Indonesia lack access to safe water and  more than 70 percent of the country's 220 million population rely on water obtained from potentially contaminated sources. Unsafe drinking water is a major cause of diarrhoea, which is the second leading killer of children under five in the country and accounts for about 20 percent of child deaths each year.

   Every year, at least 300 out of 1,000 Indonesians suffer from water-borne diseases, including cholera, dysentery, and typhoid fever, according to the Ministry of Health.

   Ismail Malik, head of the environmental health and emergency  sanitation sub-directorate at the Ministry of Health, pointed out that about 30 percent of the water distributed by water companies in the country is contaminated with E. coli or faecal coliform and other pathogens.

   Malik cited that tap water stored in a container for one day will  turn yellow.  "Many water reservoirs are located close to septic tanks,"  Malik said, adding that 30 percent of the country's water pipes are leaking due to poor maintenance.

   The country's local water companies, which get raw water resources mainly from the country's polluted rivers, can hardly handle the dirty raw water due to lack of advanced technical treatment.

   "Indonesia is really a bad country for not having clean water," Grace Gunawan, a Grade 4 student at Sekolah Bina Nusantara,  commented.

   "Some people even throw dead bodies to the river which makes the water stinky and dirty," Gunawan added.

   To reduce the high incidence of diarrhoea among children, the United States Agency for International Development introduced Air Rahmat to students of Rawa Barat State Elementary School No. 07 on Feb. 19.

   Air Rahmat is produced by a private-public partnership called Aman Tirta, which believes that all Indonesians should have easy access to safe drinking water. Members of Aman Tirta include the Johns Hopkins' Centre for Communication Programmes and CARE International Indonesia.

   Literally, Air Rahmat means gift water, but the brand name refers to a liquid 1.25 percent sodium hypochlorite solution which is effective in deactivating micro-organisms such as E. coli in water. Rahmat itself stands for economical, easy to use and healthy.

   The solution is originally developed as part of the Safe Water Systems programme of the U.S.-based Centres for Disease Control and  Prevention and is the same type of treatment that large scale municipal or city water treatment systems use worldwide. Air Rahmat, however, is made to be used at the household level in Indonesia.

   Endorsed by the Coordinating Ministry for People's Welfare and the Ministry of Health, the solution will be widely available in sidewalk eateries, kiosks, small stores, mom and pop businesses, and traditional markets in the districts of Banten and North Sumatra provinces, where the incidence of diarrhoea is high.

   "We are targeting the middle low income mothers with children under five," said Farah Amini, USAID public outreach officer.

   By mid 2006, Air Rahmat will be extensively available Jakarta and in the provinces of West Java, Central Java and East Java.

   When used correctly in conjunction with proper storage, the water treatment solution has been shown to reduce the risk of diarrhoea up to 85 percent. Air Rahmat is also able to protect water for two to three days from recontamination.

   The solution is easy to use. To use, add three millilitres of Air Rahmat for every 20 litres of water shake or stir for 30 seconds, wait for at least 30 minutes and the water is ready to drink.  "Savings are great  if you use Air Rahmat," said Amini.

   A number of Indonesian women report buying two litres of kerosene, most common fuel for boiling water, every three days instead of one litre per day since using Air Rahmat, a savings of more than 100,000 rupees or 11 dollars a month.

   "I like using Air Rahmat because I don't have to wait for the water to boil. I also don't have to wait for the water to cool," said housemaid Sofia Sebira.

   In Indonesia, the solution has been introduced in tsunami-struck Aceh province. Since the first days after the tsunami, Air Rahmat, registered as a consumer product by the Ministry of Health, has been distributed throughout Aceh.

   More than 1.5 million bottles have been distributed so far in Aceh, where lack of clean water is still a major problem. Reported use of chlorine solution in stored water in Aceh Besar was associated with a 47 percent decreased risk of having contaminated drinking water. However, those who have tried the water additive complained about the smell and taste of chlorine in the water that is treated with Air Rahmat.

   "If there is a slight smell after making the water, let the treated water sit for a couple of hours and the smell dissipates," Amini explained.

   According to the Ministry of Health and the U.S. Agency for  International Development (USAID), Air Rahmat is safe to use. The  product is used in more than 25 countries worldwide. Worldwide, more  than 2 million households use products similar to Air Rahmat. "Most of the major potable water treatment systems in the United States and in Europe use chlorination systems," said Frieda Subrata Djoko, a USAID communication officer.

   In Indonesia, the local water companies also use chlorination to treat drinking water. Chlorine began to be widely used as a disinfectant in the early 1900's. It revolutionised water purification and dramatically reduced the incidence of water-borne diseases.

   "By introducing Air Rahmat, we are offering a simple and sustainable solution to lack of access to safe water," said Soetodjo Yuwono, Coordinating Ministry for People's Welfare secretary.  "It's up to  the people to decide if they want to use it," Yuwono said. (END/AWW/ IPSAP/RD/FS/JS/100306)