Improving Access For Safe Water And Adequate Sanitation Services

The West African nation of Niger has experienced one of the worst water crisis in the world that has left the population malnourished and in poverty. Location, climate and political instability can be attributed to the water scarcity, which not only leaves the nation lacking water, but in a state of underdevelopment. However, many non-government organisations have supported the nation and its people.

According to the Millennium Development Goals Report 2012, “783 million people, or 11 per cent of the global population, remain without access to an improved source of drinking water. Such sources include household connections, public standpipes, boreholes, protected dug wells, protected springs and rainwater collections.” (United Nations, 2012) The United Nations Water Conference in 1977 along with a few other conferences, addressed helping approximately “1.3 billion people in developing countries gain access to safe drinking water.” (United Nations, 2012) While there is progress being made, we see that various regions without clean drinking water. Reports show, “In four of nine developing regions, 90 per cent or more of the population now uses an improved drinking water source. In contrast, coverage remains very low in Oceania and sub-Saharan Africa, neither of which is on track to meet the MDG drinking water target by 2015. Over 40 per cent of all people without improved drinking water live in sub-Saharan Africa.” (United Nations, 2012) It is shown that rural areas still lack drinkable water as opposed to urban areas. Consistent improvement has been made to supply populated areas with a reliable source of drinking water. However, research shows, “Coverage with improved drinking water sources for rural populations is still lagging. In 2010, 96 per cent of the urban population used an

An average of 1.8 billion people around the world face the problem of unsanitary drinking water. From adults to children living in developing countries they risk disease and illness by drinking unsafe water. More than 840,000 people die a year related to water disease, and are faced with symptoms such as diarrhea. Diarrhea alone, from poor drinking water and sanitation, kills approximately 2,300 people per day. Related to this statistic one child dies every minute from water-related illnesses. Many people around the world are faced with a water issue such as unsanitary drinking water, and women spend hours each day collecting water just to survive. The people in theses countries have no option since without water humans can’t

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

Clean water is essential to our basic needs as human beings and has been acknowledged as a basic human right according to the UN as of July 28, 2010. Still, 1 in 9 (782 million) people don’t have access to clean water, 1 in 3 (2.5 billion) don’t have access to adequate sanitation which results in the spread of often fatal and preventable disease. In a world where 2 in 5 people own a smartphone, it’s easy to forget that for some people even the most basic necessities are hard to come by. Approximately 3.5 million people die every year due to inadequate water supplies. Access to sanitation and safe drinking water could save the lives of 1.5 million children each year.

Two out of every five people living in Sub-Saharan Africa lack safe water. A baby there is 500 times more likely to die from water-related illness than one from the United States. This is a serious ongoing issue that requires the rest of the world to take action. Water spreads diseases easily if the necessary precautions are not taken. Many developing African countries don’t have sewage treatment, or the people don’t have methods to filter and disinfect. Once a person is sick either there is no way to cure them, or medical care is too expensive, so they are left untreated with a high risk of death. Although many believe that the fight for sanitary water in Africa is insurmountable, people in these developing countries can overcome their challenge to access clean water and avoid water-borne diseases through proper sewage treatment facilities, universal water filtration and medical care.

A major challenge and cause of serious medical issues in Sub-Saharan Africa is the lack of access to a clean water supply. There are 345 million people that lack access to water in Africa. Unfortunately, when water is available it is high in contamination. When wells are built and water sanitation facilities are developed, they cannot be maintained properly to due to limited financial resources. Water quality testing is not performed as often as necessary and the people are unaware that the water may not be safe to drink. Oftentimes, when a source of water has been provided, the quantity of water is often given more attention over the quality of. Lack of clean drinking is the leading cause of diarrheal diseases in Sub-Saharan Africa and causes 7.7% of deaths in Africa. Diarrhea is caused by numerous bacterial, viral and parasitic organisms most of which can be spread by contaminated water. The importance of diarrheal diseases has mostly been overlooked. Through UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO) there have been some accomplishments during the

Africa is one country that has one of the biggest water problems. Africa’s water is very toxic due to the many human bodies being thrown into it Janjaweed militia fighting against the native tribes of Africa. Africans are then drinking and cooking with this contaminated water. In Africa, they do not have plumbing, so their sewer gets mixed into the water that they drink which then causes it to be unsafe. Consequently, three hundred thousand children are dying everyday because of contaminated water. Eighty five percent of diseases in Africa are caused by waterborne illness. Africa has a huge water pollution problem, many people are dying from their water.

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

Zola opened her exhausted eyes and woke Lulu, her sister. The two grabbed large tin buckets and tiptoed out of their tiny living space, to avoid waking their family. They crouched under the tiny door, their eyes blinded by the rising sun from the outdoors. They looked at each other with wide eyes, preparing themselves for the hours of walking they would be doing today. This is the daily life of an individual child in places such as Sub Saharan Africa, like Zola and Lulu, with no access to safe water. Safe water is water that is safe to consume, because it contains no harmful bacteria or contaminants.The access to safe water is a growing issue among people around the world, including several millions of people in areas such as Sub Saharan Africa,

The provision of good quality household drinking water is often regarded as an important means of improving health, according to Sajama et al, 2011. What is more, the supply of clean water is limited by a lack of infrastructure, capacity and financial resources .so the quality of water is becoming a serious public health issue for the past years. The water shortages in Algeria Sahara has become worse because of inefficient management of the piped water distribution

According to Mr. Alexandra Barton (Thewaterproject, 2015), there are partial sources available to access clean drinking water to the total inhabitants in Sierra Leone. The foundation for pipe water from fresh, hygienic sources to dry regions is too expensive. Groundwater is the finest resource to tap to afford clean water for the people of Sierra Leone, particularly in the countryside area. However, the problems of shortage of clean water is widespread. Young kids perish from malnutrition and dehydration, which result to diarrheal sicknesses that could be prohibited by clean water. Female both adult and youth, who are the key role-players in fetching and carrying water, are prohibited from doing income-generating work or attending school,

In the many death cases that have been researched, most of the accidents that occurred in these rural areas has some type of relations to water. Inadequate water can lead to illnesses, diseases, and sometimes death. Along with the exponential population growth in West Africa, this epidemic is becoming more of a harsh reality every single day. With 94% of the 1.4 million deaths every year due to Diarrhea, a search for a better cost-effective and sanitary water treatment is an emergency that needs to be taken care of

49) in his studies conducted in Ghana and Nigeria found that diarrhoea was also prevalent in infants aged between 4 and 6 months old from households with poor sanitary conditions. WHO (2010, p.15) in its report indicated that Tanzania records 9% of all mortality in children under five was due to diarrhoea. UNDP (2006, p. 440) describes unclean water as an immeasurable greater threat to human security than violent conflict. In addition, to unclean water, lack of sanitation and poor personal hygiene are responsible for transmission of diarrhoea, cholera, typhoid and several parasitic infections (UN,

The amount of available fresh water is very limited in Benin, Africa. Much of this is a result of under urbanization, at one end of the spectrum, and poor government and infrastructure, at the other end. The population of Benin is roughly 10,160,556. It is estimated that each individual produces about 77 pounds of excrement and 132 gallons of urine a year (George 2008). This is “waste” that is typically flushed down a toilet and into a sewer system. However, this is not the case in many of these communities. Many homes in this part of the world do not have the luxury of indoor plumbing or even a indoor toilet. These people must utilize fields for their means of eliminating human waste. It is astounding to think of the infinite uses of water, and the need that some countries have for it.