Water Should Be Clean And Safe For Consumption

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).

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).

Many populations, the majority being in Africa, face many water-borne diseases mainly due to pollution of water resources. The option then becomes to either drink polluted water or not have anything at all. Continual Human development such as population growth and industrial growth have further drained water resources, causing a shortage of drinking water. As a result, there are many conflicts over ownership of water resources and these lead to injuries or fatalities.(2) As mentioned before, this shows why it is so important to find a solution to the issue of water shortage.

This research paper will focus on the social determinant of health involving access to clean water. We have focused our research on the accessibility of safe water intake on First Nations Reserves in Canada, we all know of the issues with limited access to safe water in other countries but we often forget about our own issues at home here. Over a billion people in the world lack safe drinking water, something that many of us in the Canada take for granted on a daily basis. As pointed out by Peter Gleick, “nearly three billion people live without access to adequate sanitation systems necessary for reducing exposure to water-related diseases”5. Throughout this paper we will explore different solution options in order to prevent the spread of dangerous diseases through unsanitary water conditions. Our research is going to express the importance of focusing on the issue we have at hand here in Canada and increasing awareness for the issues here before worrying about other countries over seas. Outbreaks of water-borne infections include but are not limited to; E’coli, Salmonella, Schistosoma, Cholera vibrios and Hepatitis A. Thousands of people die every day worldwide from water-related diseases; these deaths include mostly children and elderly, with some of these incidents taking place in Canada.

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

The resources for the adequate sanitation of water supplies are often scarce for developing countries like Haiti. Unsanitary

The purpose of this research paper is to discuss the water crisis in the region of Africa and how water can cause many other problems such as inadequate sanitation, poverty and diseases for the population. People living in third world countries are suffering from the water crisis that has become a major problem for the United Nations, World Health Organization, United Nations Children’s Fund, Millennium Development Goals and many of the other organizations. For some of these organizations have been successful in providing a bit more water through the years it’s still a working process. Water is essential for life, it’s not just for the body’s physical need; yet millions of people do not have access to clean water. The lack of accessible of fresh water contributes too many diseases such as HIV, AIDS, waterborne diseases, causing the death of millions of women and children annually in the region. This is making it harder for the communities to develop a safer home for their families and to improve the conditions of the country. This research paper will examine the problems, solutions and causes. How it all comes together, to contribute to this water crisis and to weather there is a solutions set by the United Nations, studies that have been conducted and other organizations, which can maybe work for the years to come. In addition, the same water problems are going to be discussed with regard to Africa for statics, examples and quotes done by the organizations in the past and

In the documentary Flow: For the Love of Water, it considers the water crisis occurring in the world. The film states that more than two million people die due to water borne diseases each year. These water-borne diseases mainly come from chemical run-off and pesticides. However, the source of clean water is complicated due to political and economic factors.

Contamination of water sources is becoming a large issue in many countries. A very well know case of this is the large outbreak of Escherichia Coli in Africa. This outbreak caused many people to become infected with E. Coli when they ate meat from cattle that had been giving water that wasn't treated. The cattle's drinking water was contaminated with E. Coli when a large rainfall water caused their drinking water to become contaminated with fecal matter.

“Water, the stuff of life and a basic human right, is at the heart of a daily crisis faced by countless millions of the world’s most vulnerable people.” As stated by the UN, every 15 seconds a child dies of water related diseases. Globally most of us don’t have clean water but in Africa clean water is very scarce. As stated by the Guardian, half of the worlds hospital beds are filled with people suffering from water related diseases. Today, around 2 million children in Africa die every year because of water related diseases. Infants and young children are especially susceptible to diseases because their immune systems are experiencing everything for the first time.

In many ways, any living being is the product of water. The figures are relevant for this assumption: the human body contains 60% water. A newborn has at birth 64% water in his organism while the fetus in the third month of pregnancy has in his tissues, 91% water. As a man ages he starts to dry: around the age of 70, the body contains 46% water. The body is composed of 25% solids and 75% liquid material in which the solvent is water. Furthermore, even the brain tissue is composed of 85% water (Wedro, Conrad Stöppler, 2011). The role of water in ensuring the health of the human body is essential. Without water, humans cannot live. Water metabolism disorders produce signals that indicate a significant de-harmonization of the biological

In the article “Provide access to clean water” from the Grand Challenges for Engineering explains how “lack of water is responsible for more deaths in the world than the war. About 1 out of every 6-people living today do not have adequate access to water, and more than double that number lack basic sanitation, for which water is needed.” (Grand Challenges) This Causes more visits to the doctor or even an unhealthy immune system which could potentially lead to death. “Waterborne diseases are caused by drinking contaminated or dirty water. Contaminated water can cause many types of diarrheal diseases, including Cholera, and other serious illnesses such as Guinea worm disease, Typhoid, and Dysentery.” (Rader, Meryl) This claim emphasizes why having access to clean water is important to prevent any of these diseases from happening. Most of our clean water comes from “digging wells to building dams, engineers have historically been prime providers of methods for meeting the

Nearly 5,000 children die every day from a water-related illness…that's one nearly every 20 seconds. 1 out of every 5 deaths under the age of five worldwide is due to a water-related disease. Enrollment rates for girls have been shown to improve by over 15% when provided with clean water and toilet facility, because girls no longer have to walk miles every day to fetch water. (UN) 90% of the deaths due to diarrheal diseases are children under 5 years old, mostly in developing countries. (UN) Malnutrition, due to dirty water, inadequate sanitation, and hygiene, is estimated to lead to death in 2,350 children under the age of five each day. (World Health Organization) Lack of access to sanitation for girls reaching puberty becomes a central cultural and human health issue, contributing to female illiteracy and low levels of education, and contributing to a cycle of poor health for pregnant women and their children. (UN)

Few resources are essential to human survival. Access to clean water is the most critical of all. Water is a vital resource responsible for sustaining all life on earth. However, clean water is in short supply, but in high demand in all parts of the world. It is thought that most Americans have access to safe, affordable, clean water right from their taps. However, the media is uncovering the true nature of America’s deteriorating water situation. Americans have reason to be seriously concerned about the state of their drinking water. So what really is on tap in America?