Dr Hussam, associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry at George Mason University, USA, and his brother Dr Munir, general secretary of Manab Shakti Unnayan Kendra, won the prize for inventing Sono Filter, a small-scale, inexpensive technology to remove arsenic from contaminated water. Prof Abul Barkat of the department of economics of Dhaka University was also involved in the activities of developing the technology.

The US-based National Academy of Engineering awarded the prize in February this year.

Sono Filter was invented in 2001 by using local technologies. The filter -- an easy-to-make, maintenance-free, two-tiered system that uses sand, charcoal, bits of brick and shards of a widely available kind of cast iron -- removes virtually every trace of arsenic from water within two or three minutes.

The filters have been distributed among the people in arsenic-prone areas.

The Bangladesh National Committee to Honour the Recipients of the Prize organised the reception ceremony at the Teacher-Student Centre (TSC) auditorium.

Former chief adviser to the caretaker government Justice Muhammad Habibur Rahman handed over citations to the two scientists at the programme attended by, among others, Prof Anisur Rahman, litterateur Selina Hossain, Coordinator of Nijera Kori Khushi Kabir, Prof Ashrafuddin Chowdhury, Prof Amir Hossain Khan and former adviser to the caretaker government Sultana Kamal.

"The invention by the two brothers is a great achievement and we are highly proud of it. Their achievement is the result of their hard and sincere research work," said Justice Habibur Rahman.

Arsenic problem prevails not only in Bangladesh; it has also become a major threat to public health in India, Nepal and China and arsenic is found in groundwater even in the United States, the speakers said, adding that the invention of Sono Filter by the two brothers will help save the lives of around 50 crore people in South Asia only.

Dr Hussam said ensuring better health is impossible without sustained supply of safe drinking water.

In most underdeveloped and developing countries, most health hazards stem from drinking contaminated water, he said.

He also urged the government and non-government organisations, international development partners and bilateral and multilateral agencies to support such inventions changing the people's life as a means to achieve the UN Millennium Development Goals.

Receiving the $1 million award in February, Dr Hussam announced that he would use 70 percent of the prize money to distribute Sono Filters to needy communities in the country.