Post
Published on January 24, 2024
Originally published by YFile (29 November 2023)
The Safe Water Optimization Tool (SWOT), an innovative technology used to help humanitarian responders deliver safe water in crisis zones, developed by two professors in York University’s Lassonde School of Engineering and Dahdaleh Institute for Global Health Research, was recently highlighted as a success story in two international publications.
![](https://yfile.news.yorku.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/SyedImranAli-300x300.jpg)
Built by Syed Imran Ali, an adjunct professor at Lassonde and research Fellow at the Dahdaleh Institute, in collaboration with Lassonde Associate Professor Usman Khan, the web-based SWOT platform generates site-specific and evidence-based water chlorination targets to ensure water remains safe to drink all the way to the point of consumption. It uses machine learning and process-based numerical modelling to generate life-preserving insight from the water quality monitoring data that is already routinely collected in refugee camps.
One of the SWOT’s funders, the U.K.-based ELRHA Humanitarian Innovation Fund, recently published a case study on the tool to serve as an example of a successful humanitarian innovation.
As a result of that publication, the SWOT was then highlighted as a success story in another case study, this time in the U.K. government’s latest white paper, titled “International development in a contested world: ending extreme poverty and tackling climate change.”
![](https://yfile.news.yorku.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/2_South-Sudan_Syed-Imran-Ali-300x225.jpg)
“These international recognitions highlight the impact our research is having on public health engineering in humanitarian operations around the world,” explained Ali.
As his team works to scale up the SWOT globally, he believes these publications will help increase awareness of and confidence in the technology. “We’re excited to build new partnerships with humanitarian organizations and help get safe water to the people who need it most,” he said.
For more information about the Safe Water Optimization Tool, visit safeh2o.app.
To learn more about how this innovation is advancing, read this YFile story.
Themes | Global Health & Humanitarianism |
Status | Active |
Related Work | |
Updates |
N/A
|
People |
Usman T. Khan, Faculty Fellow, Lassonde School of Engineering Active
Syed Imran Ali, Research Fellow, Global Health and Humanitarianism Active |
You may also be interested in...
Internship Program: Summer 2022 In Review
The Dahdaleh Institute worked with exceptional students this summer through our global health internship program, including students hired through the Research at York program, completing program practicums with us, and volunteers. Our interns conducted literature ...Read more about this Post
Recap – Reflections from Nunavut to Personal Journeys on Identity and Culture
On February 7, 2024, Sara Ferwati, a community scholar at the Dahdaleh Institute, shared her insights on the intersection of climate change and mental health. Sara's presentation delved into how climate change impacts mental well-being ...Read more about this Post
Recap — Addressing the Structural Drivers of Tuberculosis to #EndTB
In celebration of World Tuberculosis (TB) Day 2023: Yes! We Can #End TB! Faculty fellow and founder of the Social Science and Health Innovation for Tuberculosis Centre (SSHIFTB), Amrita Daftary, facilitated a seminar discussing how ...Read more about this Post