Water Supply and Sanitation Policy in Developing Countries

Water Supply and Sanitation Policy in Developing Countries

This essay is prepared in the partial fulfillment of the requirements of the MOOC: Water Supply and Sanitation Policy in Developing Countries offered by University of Manchester.

About the course: This course examines the current conditions and trends in water and sanitation services in low and middle income countries. Within the course, a critical outlook at the underlying political, economic, social, and technical reasons why almost a billion people lack access to improved water supplies and almost 2 billion still do not have improved sanitation services is provided.

Essay: Brief about overall water and sanitation policy issues across low and middle income countries. (500 words)

Summary:

I would like to begin with what Dr LEE Jong-wook, Director-General, World Health Organization said "Water and Sanitation is one of the primary drivers of public health and it can often be referred as “Health 101”, which means that once we can secure access to clean water and to adequate sanitation facilities for all people, irrespective of the difference in their living conditions, a huge battle against all kinds of diseases will be won." Current UN Water reports 2.5 billion people do not use an improved sanitation facility and over 1 billion practice open defecation. Improved Water and Sanitation will help prevent disease, raise productivity and the standard of living in such communities adding human dignity and self-esteem. 

Further Details: 

                         Introduction

By including water supply, sanitation and hygiene in the UN Millennium Development Goals (UN MDG 7, Target 7C), identifies goals for global water & sanitation, the world community has acknowledged the importance of their promotion as development interventions. Let me share with you some facts and figures to highlight this fact:

·         1.8 million people die every year from diarrhoeal diseases (including cholera); 90% are children under 5, mostly in developing countries. 88% of diarrhoeal disease is attributed to unsafe water supply, inadequate sanitation and hygiene.  

·         1.2 million people die of malaria each year, 90% of whom are children under 5.

·         An estimated 160 million people are infected with schistosomiasis. The disease causes tens of thousands of deaths every year, mainly in sub-Saharan Africa.

·         500 million people are at risk from trachoma. 146 million are threatened by blindness. 6 million people are visually impaired by trachoma. 

All these diseases and their related implications can be removed through proper water and sanitation techniques. 

                        Progress: 

Since 1990 there has been significant progress in delivery of such amenities throughout the world. From 1990 to 2000, the total annual investment in sanitation in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean was $3.1 billion in comparison to a $12.5 billion annual investment in water during the same period.

                      Solutions: 

General attention needs to be streamed towards improving accessibility to clean water sources and better sanitation program. This is a step-by-step approach, and how it should be implemented will largely vary on case-by-case basis. When considering water supply, this will mean ensuring access to water beds and installing public taps. Access to clean water will enable significant health benefits, but also other benefits, such as time savings, where with the improved water services time can be invested in other, economically beneficial activities. However, it is important to understand quality of water brought to the household. Where, if the quality is not satisfactory, additional measures, such as water chlorination need to be implemented. Important role plays education. 

                      Conclusion:

Water and sanitation problems across all developing countries are becoming increasingly more and more interconnected and intertwined with other development-related issues, and also with social, economic, environmental, legal and political considerations, at local and national levels, and sometimes even at regional and international levels.This calls for an all-inclusive participation.