Global Water Crises Around The World And The Effects They Have On People Who Inhabit Those Regions

Unsafe water supplies are often contaminated with infectious agents, toxic chemicals, and radiological hazards. In 2000, the World Health Organization and UNICEF identified some 2.4 billion people who did not have basic sanitation facilities, and 1.1 billion people without a safe drinking water supply. (Wagner, 2009) Some communities experienced diarrhea, caused by a variety of parasites, viruses, and bacteria that infect people as a result of contaminated drinking water or poor hygiene. In India, more than 500,000 children die from diarrhea every year. Like other tropical diseases, when diarrhea does not kill, it weakens, leaving people more susceptible to other infections, such as tuberculosis and HIV. (Whitman, 2008).

Specific Purpose: The purpose of this speech is to provide a persuasive speech on the issue of water pollution and inaccessibility to clean water in third world countries and offer some plausible solutions. The three solutions are filtration systems, chlorination, and collection grids.

That “over 1 billion people lack access to safe water supplies;” and that “2.6 billion people lack adequate sanitation.” (WHO, 2005)

Thanks to the United Nations general assembly recognizing the need for clean water in Resolution 64/292, the states and international organizations have been called on to provide funding and resources to help developing countries provide safe, clean, affordable, and accessible water to all. This is a step in the right direction, seeing as women and children in some countries have to walk more than 30 minutes to collect water- if there is any water to collect at all.

As an American citizen, I never question the water my state government provided me with. Also, I took for granted that I was receiving purified water, and believe that I did not have to inquire about the water safety level. However, after reading the Kristen Silven article, “Flint Water Crisis”, I felt infuriated learning that an American community had been poisoned, because of their government inadequacy to provide them with proper water. Also, I believe it was inhuman that the government neglected citizens and their duties for nearly 18 months. Furthermore, I felt empathic for the 666 homes that have shown high levels of lead poison in their drinking water. I could not imagine being a mother watching my child be poisoned and not have the

USnews.com finds that India is an area where a large majority of the population do not have access to clean water. Indians have to spend 62 more cents than the British for their water, which is estimated to be 20 percent of their average income. These are the circumstances that they have to live with in, where the only alternative is to use contaminated water. Those who choose to do so often face a risk of dying from an illness, more often from diarrhea. Exposure to dirty water accounts for the death of 140,000 kids in India.

still do not have access to safe water and 32 million don’t have access to adequate sanitation in

Water and sanitation: Around 1.8 million people die every year from diarrhea diseases caused by lack of safe drinking water and adequate sanitation. At any one time about one-half of all people in developing countries are suffering from diseases associated with water. Diseases may be caused by drinking water contaminated by human or animal waste, insects which breed in water or parasites. The energy expended carting water long distances also has a health and time cost on women and children. Improved access to water and a knowledge of hygiene and management practices can lead to improved

Between 1990 and 2012, almost 2 billion people obtained access to improved sanitation. However, 1 billion people still resort to open defecation

According to Unicef, “Two out of every ten children do not make it to their fifth birthday due to a water related illness.” This crisis is preventable and 39% of Western and Central African people should not be living like this. Life is difficult for the people that do not have clean water. ¨Women and children walk up to three hours a day to get water,¨(Unicef). “Women spend more time collecting water than anything else,” stated by Water Changes Everything. “Women and children also carry up to 40 pounds of water every trip they make to get water,” states Water and Sanitation. The information is important because they do not have a good chance to get a job or education and therefore they live in poverty with no chance of having a productive life outside of their village. There are many global problems about this crisis. “The woman and children collecting the water do not get an education because they spend all day getting the water” (Water Changes Everything). “They still do not have proper sanitation water to drink or clean water,” states the The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “On an average year 1.5 million children die a year due to a water related disease,” states Water and Sanitation. This problem is solvable, and we can not allow 1.5 million children to die a year and not get an education. Research must continue in order to solve this

The article “The Right to Water in the Slums of Mumbai, India” highlights the primary barriers to accessing water in the slums of Mumbai, India. Residents of slums that are “notified” in India, meaning that they are recognized by the government, are entitled to access to city services, including water supply. Residents of non-notified slums suffer from lack of access to sanitary water, latrines, electricity, and public transportation. Nearly half of the slums in Mumbai are non-notified. Notified slum communities have access to a chlorinated central water supply managed by the government, leaving residents of non-notified slums to illegally tap into city water pipes out of desperation. Lack of access to clean water causes diarrhoeal illnesses

780 million people worldwide lack access to clean water and annually, 2 to 8 million die from health issues relating to this. (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, 2013). UNICEF and WHO estimates that the countries shouldering the greatest burden from this are China, India, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Indonesia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Bangladesh, United Republic of Tanzania, Kenya and Pakistan with women and girls disproportionately affected. (UNICEF, 2014)

This report seeks to improve access to water and sanitation in developing countries in order to achieve better public health and save lives, also the role of local communities to improve water and sanitation. The standard of water and sanitation in developing countries is still a far cry from adequate. There are obstacles that delay the improvements of the topic mentioned above: limited amount of investment, lack of political will, and difficulty of maintaining the water and sanitation services.

Although access to sanitation in rural India is increasing, the increase still is not enough. Open defecation is still almost universal among the poorest twenty percent of the population (Poo 2 Loo). Most often Indians choose to open defecate because they do not have a toilet available to them or the one they do have is not of adequate standards. One may describe an ‘inadequate’ toilet as one that is filthy, at some distance from their home, or does not provide proper privacy. Women and girls face shame and loss of dignity if they do not have a toilet at their home. Most of the time women and girls must wait until it is dark outside to open defecate because they do not have enough privacy during the day. Public defecation at night is a serious problem for women and girls because crimes, such as rape, are much more easier and more likely to occur. Another reason is they may to choose to openly defecate is because they have had a toilet installed for them by the government, and they refuse to use the toilet due to the fact they feel that it was given to them as an act of pity. That’s half the population dumping over sixty million kilos of excrement out in the open every

Although, a lack of sanitation and waste disposal system and its impacts on public health is very common in lesser developed countries, this problem is not