I3@USD-Fall 2025

A Collective Effort Working Toward Access to Clean Water in Uganda I n a global population with countless urgent humanitarian needs, access to clean water is at to the University of San Diego’s attention through Hahn School of Nursing and Health Science’s former faculty member, Anita Hunter, child development being adversely affected by contaminated water. Hunter was instrumental in efforts to found the hospital, which broke ground in 2008. Since then, a multidisciplinary team By Julene Snyder

the top of the list. “While most countries have access to water sources, not all these sources are considered reliable, or clean, by the standards set by the World Health Organization,” noted Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering 2020 Valedictorian, Ava Bellizzi ’20 (ME), when describing her senior design project. The pressing need for a scalable water filtration system first came

PhD, RN, who was approached by a Catholic church in Poway that was concerned about the high death rates of children in Mbarara, Uganda, recalls Professor and Chair of Mechanical Engineering Frank Jacobitz, PhD. Mbarara, the second largest city in the country, is home to Holy Innocents Children Hospital, where caregivers saw a pattern of

from USD — involving chemistry, biology, nursing and engineering — has considered ways to improve water quality, community health and water treatment options in rural Uganda. When Mbarara University Science and Technology (MUST) established an engineering campus in 2020, Jacobitz saw an opportunity to partner with

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