The water problem

by Tara Smith     Department: Earth

I missed world water day, which was March 22nd. Why set aside a day to celebrate water?

The very fact that we can ask that demonstrates just how fortunate we are to be able to take the water we use every day for granted. Worldwide, over a billion people lack access to clean water--approximately a sixth of the world's population. Over 2.5 billion don't have access to adequate sanitation. Not surprisingly, in areas where this is common one of the main causes of death of infants and children is from diarrheal diseases--and these figures are just for your average time period.

In Somalia, for instance, the situation has become even more dire. More than a quarter of a million people have recently fled the capital city of Mogadishu due to violence. Many have settled in a makeshift refugee camp, living in huts of sticks and cloth, with little or no access to food and water, and more are arriving every day.

Even in the United States, all our citizens don't have access to sanitation and clean drinking water. A recent New York Times article notes that when it comes to water, some eskimo populations in Alaska are living without adequate safe water, and paying a price with their health:

Remote Alaska includes about 170 Eskimo villages, mostly along coasts and rivers and reachable only by boat, snowmobile or airplane....Although most have electricity and heat, many lack running water and sewage, because permafrost means that pipes have to be run on stilts.

Plumbing each house can cost $50,000. Instead, villagers use bucket toilets and haul water in jerrycans from a central reservoir.

In the United States, 99.4 percent of homes have plumbing; in these villages, about a third do not.

"Living conditions are like those in the developing world," said Dr. Thomas Hennessy, director of the Arctic Investigation Programs at the disease centers. "What's different is that they're connected to a health care system that's the envy of the rest of the world."

So what does something like World Water Day hope to accomplish? First, to raise awareness. If you didn't know the extent of this issue, your neighbor probably doesn't either. Second, to raise funds, assistance, and generally advocate for change. Advocates such as Bill and Melinda Gates and others have worked to introduce global health into the public consciousness, but the vast expanse of the problem is still incomprehensible to many, especially those of us who have never had to think for a day in our lives about where our water comes from, or where our waste goes.

Tags: disease, global health, sanitation, Water

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