By now everyone knows that availability of potable water is among the most important challenges facing this and coming generations. Thanks to the USA-based tax and donor-funded National Public Radio for bringing this to our attention:

…A more common technology for removing salt and other impurities from water is known as reverse osmosis, which uses lots of energy to produce the extremely high pressure required to force raw water through a semi-permeable membrane. You can see a diagram of how it works here.

UNICEF is using the Sweat Machine as the centerpiece of a campaign to raise awareness about the lack of clean drinking water for children. The United Nations agency estimates that 780 million people worldwide lack access to clean drinking water.

“We wanted to raise this subject in a new, playful and engaging way,” Peter Westberg, deputy executive director at UNICEF Sweden, says in a statement. “Our Sweat Machine is a reminder that we all share the same water. We all drink and sweat in the same way, regardless of how we look or what language we speak. Water is everyone’s responsibility and concern.”

As part of the promotion, UNICEF got Swedish soccer celebrities Tobias Hysen and Mohammed Ali Khan to take the first sips of “product” produced by the Sweat Machine during the youth world Gothia Cup.

The whole story is here.