LifeStraw

This is a picture of a woman drinking water, out of what appears to be a very dirty river, through a LifeStraw. The LifeStraw filters out common bacteria in water such as Salmonella, Shigella, Enterococcus, Staphylococcus, and e-coli and can prevent diptheria, cholera, typhoid, and diarrhea. It is small, cheap (about $2.00), doesn't have a lot of moving parts, doesn't require electricity, and will last for about a year. It can be used by adults and by children who can suck. It doesn't completely eliminate bacteria but reduces the levels of bacteria making the water safe to drink.
Here are some interesting and sad facts that I didn't know: More than 1 billion people don't have access to clean water. That's about 1/6 of the world's population. About 1/2 of the world's poor suffer from waterborne diseases. About 6,000 die everyday from consuming bad water. Most are children.