Water has become one of the most important aspects of international development. More than any other resource, water is essential for human existence. However, access to safe water is one of the most pressing issues in the developing world.
Safe water, such as the water that comes out of most American pipes, is safe to
drink and free from harmful, infectious water-borne diseases. However, in much
of the world access to safe drinking water is minimal or non-existent.
Currently, up to 894 million people lack access to clean water; that's ONE in SIX people. If we include
all those who lack access to basic sanitation, that makes it 2.5 billion people
who are susceptible to such diseases; 1 billion of those
who are children. (UN-Water) There are over twenty infectious diseases that are water
related such as cholera, Guinea worm, ringworm, trachoma, and various forms of
diarrhea to name a few. (World Health Organization)
Combined with other factors often found in the developing world such as AIDS,
malnutrition, and other health problems,
water-related diseases can often kill individuals. An estimate of 2.2 million deaths occur each year, that's a little over 6,000 lives every day, due to poor sanitation and the consumption of unsafe water, the second largest killer of children worldwide. (Unicef)
Furthermore, water has important impacts on the lives of women and children. Often times, especially in Sub-Sahara Africa, water sources are kilometers away from towns and villages. Women have to walk to these water sources to carry often unsafe water back to their families. Children are often enlisted to help carry water, depriving them of an
education and community participation. An estimated 40 billion work hours are lost due to carrying water from water sources to homes (Cosgrove and Rijsberman 1998); households in Africa spend 26% of their time fetching water (UK-Department for International Development). Furthermore, the water they carry is often contaminated by infectious water-borne or related diseases, making an entire household sick, especially young children who lack strong immune systems.
In addition, the attempt to secure access to clean and safe drinking water can spawn conflicts. Water is a necessity. Human beings can only live without water for 2 or 3 days. So controlling water in areas where it is scarce means having power. Unequal distribution and unfair wielding of power can lead to conflict in an area that is already stricken with conflict from other sources.
There is hope from such dire statistics, however. Safe drinking water can come from water wells, which can often be placed directly in or very close to the towns that need water. A well-maintained hand-pump can supply clean water for hundreds of people and are relatively cheap. There are also various personal water filtration systems that use local materials, take little upkeep, and cost very little. Washing ones hands with clean water and soap can reduce diarrhoeal diseases by over 40% (British Medical Journal). Furthermore, an integrated approach of providing water, sanitation and hygiene reduces the number of deaths caused by diarrhoeal diseases by an average of 65% (WHO).
