Sanitation Practices And Sustainable Water Systems

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

Main Point: Third world countries lack accessibility to clean water exposing them to disease and harmful toxins that result in 2.4 million deaths annually (Bartram, 2010).

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.

There is a water crisis which faces many parts of the world and it is a threat to survival of human beings since humans are primarily dependent on water. Shortage in drinking water is beginning to show its effects in first world countries, but is a current major problem facing lesser developed countries which have not taken drastic steps to harvest water and purify it to make it safe for human consumption. In developed countries the population growth has strained available water resources and stretched the ability of governments and private firms to provide safe drinking water to the vast majority of the population. Seventy one percent of

Water, like food, is a necessity for human life that is used for many purposes such as agricultural, industrial, and domestic systems. While water is a common element around the world not all of it is clean and able to be consumed or used by humans. With only a percentage of the world’s water being clean and the use of water increasing, the availability of water around the world has become a common issue in the developing and even the developed world. This may be a smaller problem in areas close to clean water sources compared to areas far from a clean water source but, the availability of water is not strictly based on location, it also depends on the specific political and social needs and issues of the area as well. These all become issues that must be accounted for when deciphering whether water is a basic human right or a commodity and what action must be taken to aid the developing water systems in community’s that lack them.

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.

The water crisis in the world is increasing, and it will continue to increase if something is not done. Water makes up approximately seventy-one percent of Earth’s surface. This does not include the water underground. Everyday water is being taken more than it is being put in, and people have a large role in this. Climate change, the number of people in the world, and water wasted is among the uppermost causes of the water crisis. It is simple, if you do not have water, you will eventually die. The water crisis is a health crisis for everyone globally.

The commodification of water is driven by fears of water scarcity, accessibility and cleanliness. Water is recognized a basic human “the human right to water entitles everyone to sufficient, safe, acceptable, physically accessible and affordable water for personal and domestic uses” (UN, 2002). But despite this it estimated approximately a billion people do not have access to clean drinking 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

Across the globe there are approximately six hundred and sixty three million people who lack access to clean, safe drinking water. Water is essential to life and a basic human right that everyone, regardless of status or location, should have. Water scarcity has begun to increase with the growth of population and agricultural industry. This scarcity is affecting humans across the globe, even in wealthy industrialized countries. The overuse of water in homes, on farms, and in the workplace has put a burden on the natural environmental systems that keep civilizations going, forcing people to take action. Water scarcity continues to be a modern tragedy worldwide; however, global efforts provide hope for many through their continued outreach programs to bring water to people in need and fix the broken system that has been adopted.

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

Water covers 70% of our planet, and it is easy to think that it will always be plentiful. However, freshwater, what we drink, bathe in, irrigate our farm fields with makes up only 3% of the world’s water, and two-thirds of that is stored in frozen glaciers or unavailable for our use. Many of the water systems that keep ecosystems thriving and feed a growing human population have become stressed. Rivers, lakes and aquifers are drying up or becoming too polluted to use. Already, 80 countries suffer from water shortages that threaten health and economies while 40 percent of the world—more than 2 billion people—does not have access to clean water or sanitation

The absolute most important thing to human life is water, without water all life on Earth would not exist. Thankfully water quality is highly important and monitored to ensure its safety for human consumption. According to the U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) Water Science School over 96% of the Earths, water is Ocean salt water, making less than 4% of drinkable water more valuable. (Where’s the World’s Water? 2016). Having clean drinking water is not only important for our survival as humans, but it is also important because it prevents the development of various types of diseases that can take out villages or small cities with one outbreak. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about, 2,200 children die every day as a result of diarrheal diseases, due to unsafe drinking water 88% of these deaths are due to inadequate availability of water for hygiene, and lack of access to sanitation. (Global Water, Sanitation, & Hygiene (WASH, 2015). Taking the necessary steps and precautions to ensure everyone has access to clean water can reduce the threats of many diseases.

According to the WHO, Globally, at least 2 billion people use a drinking water source contaminated with faeces. Public health is dependent upon safe and accessible water. Water is consumed daily commercially and domestically. Water is an indispensable basic human necessity, which needs to be consumed every day for survival. However, water has wider impacts on health and well-being and improved water supply and sanitation as well as stronger management of resources can help individuals and whole communities flourish economically and may contribute to a decrease in poverty (who,2017). There are many obstacles that must be addressed to meet the priority of improved water access. Many communities are restricted by minimal coverage, inferior quality, insufficient quantity, poor continuity and excessive cost (who,2017). Water quality isn’t the only determinant of public health; however, it has great influence on public health, particularly waters microbiological quality a vital key in preventing people from becoming ill (who,2017).

As Americans living in a first world environment, it becomes easy to take the necessities for granted. Simple things like drinking water have been easily accessible for our entire lives and we have grown to think nothing of it. However, there are a vast number of people around the world who struggle to survive because they lack the resources that we have in abundance. For these people, clean water is nonexistent; the people living in these impoverished, third world countries may go an entire lifetime without tasting it. One could only imagine the incredible things that would happen if something as simple as pure water was available to all. Though the chances of underprivileged countries worldwide gaining access to clean drinking water are low, experts believe that if achieved, it would improve the health, economy, and lives of billions.