The Problem Of Walking Through The Katwe Slums In Uganda

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

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).

The author of "Water" develops their claim by giving their argument, stating water-related challenges, arguing the right to water, setting goals, and lastly, explaining the importance of water to hygiene and sanitation. In order to raise awareness, the author gives staggering facts about the issue and possible solutions. This author uses informative yet convincing language pointing his article at an audience who is researching the problem or those who would like to contribute to the

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).

Having had the chance to travel to some the most primitive areas around the world for missions work, lack of clean water affects the health and hygiene of a people. Improper disposal of human waste and trash are key contributors to water contamination in underdeveloped countries. “In 2016, 143 communities and 57 schools received clean water in Sierra Leone, Kenya and Uganda” (“2016 Annual Report”). Organizations, like The Water Project, are making great efforts around the world to make a difference in these areas by installing wells and providing water purification systems. Until the proper infrastructure is in place, bottled water is the perfect stopgap. Bottled water can provide those living in these unreached areas a way to get their daily intake of water without fear of sickness.

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.

The water and sanitation problem in the developing world is far too big for charity alone. Water.org is driving the water sector for new solutions, new financing models, greater transparency, and real partnerships to create lasting change. Their vision: Safe

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.

Unclean water is a growing phenomenon that is immensely occurring in Latin America. Water is an important necessity in life. There are over 70 million people who have no access to clean water. Many families in Latin America cannot afford to send their children to school, so the children drop out of school to help work at the home. Many of the children who stay home to work walk for hours to get to the nearest water source, and most of the time, the water is unclean and not safe to drink. The unclean water is the only water accessible to families in Latin America. With the unclean water available, sanitation was not. It is very rare to find any form of sanitized water in most households in Latin America. Over 100 million people are not

Oxfam is upgrading public health through safer access to sustainable and sufficient water sanitation and health services by supporting the development of appropriate pro-poor water and sanitation policies. One example of this is that Oxfam is providing clean water and hygiene kits to survivors of the mudslide in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Oxfam initially plans to help almost 2,000 households that are in concerns over the fact that there is continuous heavy rains, overcrowding and inadequate water and sanitation systems which will leave people extremely vulnerable to outbreaks of cholera and other diseases. Sustainable Development Goal 3 Good Health and Wellbeing: Ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all at all ages aims to promote the

The water crisis in Africa has many ill effects including diminished health, poor education and low productivity. Currently 319 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa do not have access reliable clean drinking water. When you don't have access to clean water your are much more likely to be exposed to diarrheal illnesses, which cause dehydration, starvation and eventually death. Currently 62% of Sub-Saharan Africa’s population lives in rural areas. However, there are many negative consequences to living in a rural area. One main reason widespread access to clean water has not been achieved yet is because water is a very challenging material to transport and transporting water in rural areas with minimal infrastructure does not make transportation

Imagine being snatched from your bed in the middle of the night and forced to commit horrific war crimes at only 7 years old. In Uganda, this sadly isn’t an unusual occurrence. Children and their families live in fear of being captured and made into child soldiers against their will. Led by Joseph Kony, the Lord’s Resistance Army has abducted over 30,000 children in Uganda and forced them to fight in war. These children are forced to become brutal killing machines, and lose touch with their livelihood, morals and ultimately their childhood. A student at MHS should care about the child soldiers in Uganda because children are the future of a country. If children grow up in inhumane conditions and trained to be violent from a young age, they will grow up into antagonistic adults that our generation will have to deal with later on in life.

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,

Awela Musleh looks around her house during an interview with NPR News, ashamed of the disarray around her. Musleh is a mother of six, struggling to survive in the Palestinian-occupied West Bank, one of the most politically tumultuous regions of the world. “Look at how dirty my house is,” she tells Daniel Estrin, the host of the interview, “I focus on drinking, not cleaning.” Where she lives, water is a luxury. She relies on a few buckets of water to wash her dishes, shower by hand, and flush the toilet—buckets of water she bought from a truck that brings in water from other areas—trucks that are accused of such terrible price gouging, they’re outlawed in many Palestinian towns. But Musleh has no choice. Her town hasn’t had water for over two weeks.