CLEAN WATER POLICY BRIEF
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Amara Amadiegwu Midterm Policy Brief PUBH 2115 Health, Human Rights and Displaced Persons Unsafe Water and Inadequate Sanitation Policy Brief Clean, safe drinking water is vital to the lives of both humans and animals. It is not a commodity, service or good; it is a basic human right and legal entitlement for everyone. If clean water is a basic human right, how do we explain the 884 million people living without access to clean water? These numbers rise each day and many people die from diseases related to poor water and sanitation conditions. This policy brief, will discuss the importance and magnitude of the problem, why it is an issue, and the ways in which we as individuals and the international community can and are currently addressing it. Scope and Magnitude of the problem According to the Human Development report conducted by the UNDP, the united nations development programme, at any given time, about half of all people in developing countries are suffering from illnesses related to poor water and sanitation conditions. In order for water to be considered safe for domestic or personal use it must be free from microorganisms, radiological hazards and chemical substances. These standards have been set by the World Health Organization (WHO) and if followed properly, will insure safe water for all. Clean Figure 1: From UN Human Right to water and sanitation media brief
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Transcript of CLEAN WATER POLICY BRIEF
AmaraAmadiegwuMidtermPolicyBriefPUBH2115Health,HumanRightsandDisplacedPersons UnsafeWaterandInadequateSanitationPolicyBrief
Clean,safedrinkingwaterisvitaltothelivesofboth
humansandanimals.Itisnotacommodity,serviceor
good;itisabasichumanrightandlegalentitlementfor
everyone.Ifcleanwaterisabasichumanright,howdowe
explainthe884millionpeoplelivingwithoutaccessto
cleanwater?Thesenumbersriseeachdayandmany
peoplediefromdiseasesrelatedtopoorwaterandsanitationconditions.Thispolicy
brief,willdiscusstheimportanceandmagnitudeoftheproblem,whyitisanissue,
andthewaysinwhichweasindividualsandtheinternationalcommunitycanand
arecurrentlyaddressingit.
ScopeandMagnitudeoftheproblem
AccordingtotheHumanDevelopmentreportconductedbytheUNDP,the
unitednationsdevelopmentprogramme,atanygiventime,abouthalfofallpeople
indevelopingcountriesaresufferingfromillnessesrelatedtopoorwaterand
sanitationconditions.Inorderforwatertobeconsideredsafefordomesticor
personaluseitmustbefreefrommicroorganisms,radiologicalhazardsand
chemicalsubstances.ThesestandardshavebeensetbytheWorldHealth
Organization(WHO)andiffollowedproperly,willinsuresafewaterforall.Clean
Figure1:FromUNHumanRighttowaterandsanitationmediabrief
waterisimportantbecausewaterisusedinsomanyaspectsoflife.Itisusedfor
cooking,growingfruitsandvegetables,drinking,bathing,cleaning,sanitationand
more.Imaginehavingtodoallofthesetaskswithlittletonowater,imaginedoing
thatwithdiseaseinfestedwater.Formillionsofpeople,mainlyinthirdworld
impoverished,countries,thisisareality.Therearemanyunderlying
factorsthatarethereasonwhymanyfamiliesdonothave
accesstocleanwaterandsanitation.Forexamplethebiggest
factorismoney.Creatingirrigationinthehomeitselfifvery
expensiveandtheymaynotbeabletoafforditoritsupkeep.
Anotherreasonisgeography.Thenearestwatersourceisoften
milesaway.Thesearejusttwoofthemanyreasonsthatcan
impedeafamily’sabilitytoaccesssafewater.
Thebiggestissuewithuncleanwateristhatitsconsumptioncanleadtoa
multitudeofdiseases.Forstarters,Schistosomiasisisadiseasecausedbyparasitic
wormthatpenetratestheskinwhileswimming,bathingorwashinginunsafewater.
Thisdiseaseaffectsaround200millionpeopleanddestroystheirlivers,bladders,
lungsandintestines.Withadequatesanitationandwatersupply,infectionrates
couldbereducedby77percent.AnotherwaterrelateddiseaseisTrachoma.Itisan
Figure2:FromCharity:Water,whywaterpage
Figure3:FromCharity:Water,whywaterpage
eyeinfectioncausedbypoorhygieneandisthecauseofblindnessin6million
peopleworldwidetoday.Withcleanwater,theinfectionratecanbereducedby25
percent.Otherdiseasesmayinclude,typhoidfever,cholera,HIV/aids,malaria,
intestinalworms,diarrhea,arsenicosis,salmonella,E.coli,Hepatitisa,andmore.
Diseasesfromunsafewaterandpoorsanitationkillmorepeoplethanallformsof
violenceespeciallywar.
Itsnotenoughforwatertobeclean,itmustbe
physicallyaccessible.InplaceslikeAfricaandAsia,women
andchildrenhavetheburdenoffetchingwaterfortheir
families.Thenearestsourceofwaterisusuallymilesaway
andislikelytobecontaminatedanyway.Theironlychoice
isbecomesickwithoutwaterortaketheirchancesgetting
illconsuminguncleanwater.Oftentimestheroadthereis
dangerousandwomenareatriskofbeingharassedandsexuallyassalted.Thetime
spentwalkingtoandfromthewatersourcetakestimeawayfromschoolandwork.
Thislocksthesewomenandchildrenintoacycleofpoverty,withoutaneducation
oranincometheywouldearnfrom
workingtheyarestuck.Lastly,the
containersusedtocarrywaterbackand
forthareabnormallyheavyandputa
strainonthebacksofthesewomanand
especiallythechildren.Thiscanleadto
stuntedgrowthandothermedicalissues.
Figure4:FromWater.org,Crisis,Womenandwater:AnImpossiblechoicepage
Figure5:FromCharity:Water,Whywaterpage
TheHumanRightsissue
In2002theCommitteeonEconomic,SocialandCulturalRightsdraftedand
adoptedgeneralcommitmentnumber15onwaterasahumanright.Article1.1
statesthat“Thehumanrighttowaterisindispensableforleadingalifeinhuman
dignity.Itisaprerequisitefortherealizationofotherhumanrights.”Article2states
thatthewatermustbe“sufficient,safe,acceptable,physicallyaccessibleand
affordable…personalanddomesticuses.”Sufficientmeansthatthesupplymustbe
enoughforpersonalanddomesticuses.TheWHOestimatesthat50to100litersof
waterisneedperpersondailytoensureallbasicneedsaremet.Thewatermustbe
safeandfreefromcontamination.Itshouldalsobeofanacceptablecolorandtaste.
Thewatersource,asstatedbyWHO,mustbewithintheimmediatevicinityofthe
householdorwithin1000metersandnomorethan30minutesaway.Lastlyitmust
beaffordableforallandlessthanorequalto3%ofthehouseholdincomeaccording
totheUNDP.InJuly2010,theUNdeclaredthataccesstocleanwaterandsanitation
isahumanrightthroughResolution64/292.TheResolutioncallsforinternational
organizationsandStatesto“andinternationalorganizationstoprovidefinancial
resources,capacity-buildingandtechnologytransfer,throughinternational
assistanceandcooperation,inparticulartodevelopingcountries,inordertoscale
upeffortstoprovidesafe,clean,accessibleandaffordabledrinkingwaterand
sanitationforall.”
Whoishelping,howandwhatelsecanbedone
Numerousnon-stateactorshavejoinedinthefighttobringcleanwater
globally.Nonprofitorganizationssuchascharity:water,water.orgwhichwas
foundedbyactorMattDamon,thewaterprojectandmore,allaimatreducingthe
numberoffamilieswithoutaccesstocleanwater.Inadditionmanygovernmental
organizationshavetakenstepstowardsthisgoalaswell.IntheUN’sMillennium
DevelopmentGoal(MDG)number7target10,establishedin2002,aimedtohalfthe
proportionofthepopulationwithoutadequateaccesstosafedrinkingwaterand
sanitation.In2012theymetthatgoal.InMarch2014,theWorldBank’sBoardof
ExecutiveDirectorsmetandagreedtoprovidefunds(205milliondollars)tohelp
thegovernmentofEthiopiatoincreasesaccesstosafedrinkingwater.TheUnited
KingdomhasalsocommittedtoworkingtowardstheMDGsetoutin2002.They
pledgedtobringaccessto60millionpeoplebybuildingstandpipesandpumps
aroundvillagesandothersanitationnecessitateslikesinksandtoilets.They
targetedtheDemocraticRepublicofCongo,Tanzania,andotherremotevillagesin
AsiaandAfrica.TheEUhaspartneredwithUNICEFandthegovernmentofDjibouti
todotheirpartoftheMDG.Theypledged2millioneurosin2007toimprovethe
livesofmanypeoplelivingwithoutpropersanitationand
cleanwater.
Thisfighttoimprovethequalityofwaterand
sanitationinmanyareasisnotaproblemthatanyone
governmentororganizationcanfixontheirown.Itis
Figure6:fromhttp://askaboutfukushimanow.com/page/16/
uptogovernments,organizationsandindividualstojointogethertackletheissue
together.SofarwiththeMillenniumDevelopmentGoals,theworldismakingsteps
intherightdirection,butthereismoretobedone.Moregovernmentsneedtotake
initiativeandcollaboratewiththevariousnonprofitsattemptingtobringclean
watertoimpoverishednations.Byallocatingpartoftheirbudgetstothisproblem
theyarenotonlybringingcleanwater,theyareimprovingthehealthofmany
people,providingtimeforchildrentoreturntoschool,andenablingthemtobreak
thecycleofpoverty.Inthelongrun,thisonesolutionsaveslivesandsavesmoney.
References
• UNDP.HumanDevelopmentReport2006.BeyondScarcity:Power,povertyandtheglobalwatercrisis.2006
• "FactsandFigures."2013.UNESCO,n.d.Web.17Nov.2015.
http://www.unwater.org/water-cooperation-2013/water-cooperation/facts-and-figures/en/
• "TheHumanRighttoWaterandSanitation."(n.d.):n.pag.UN-WaterDecadeProgrammeonAdvocacyandCommunicationandWaterSupplyandSanitationCollaborativeCouncil.Web.17Nov.2015.<UN-WaterDecadeProgrammeonAdvocacyandCommunicationandWaterSupplyandSanitationCollaborativeCouncil>.
http://www.un.org/waterforlifedecade/pdf/human_right_to_water_and_sanitation_media_brief.pdf
• "ForWomen,It'sPersonal."Waterorg.N.p.,n.d.Web.17Nov.2015.http://water.org/water-crisis/womens-crisis/
• "Water,SanitationandHygiene."UNICEF.N.p.,n.d.Web.17Nov.2015.
http://www.unicef.org/wash/index_wes_related.html
• "Hrw,Decade,WaterforLife,2015,UN-Water,UnitedNations,MDG,Water,Sanitation,Financing,Gender,IWRM,HumanRight,Transboundary,Cities,Quality,FoodSecurity,GeneralComment,BKM,Albuquerque."UNNewsCenter.UN,n.d.Web.17Nov.2015.http://www.un.org/waterforlifedecade/human_right_to_water.shtml
• "2010to2015GovernmentPolicy:WaterandSanitationinDevelopingCountries."-GOV.UK.N.p.,n.d.Web.17Nov.2015.https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/2010-to-2015-government-policy-water-and-sanitation-in-developing-countries/2010-to-2015-government-policy-water-and-sanitation-in-developing-countries
• "TheEuropeanUnion,UNICEFandtheDjiboutiGovernmentProvideCleanWatertoThousandsofRuralResidents."UNICEF.N.p.,n.d.Web.17Nov.2015.http://www.unicef.org/media/media_40167.html
• http://askaboutfukushimanow.com/page/16/
• "UNMillenniumProject|Goals,Targets&Indicators."UNMillenniumProject|Goals,Targets&Indicators.N.p.,n.d.Web.18Nov.2015.http://www.unmillenniumproject.org/goals/gti.htm#goal7
