The Right to Clean Water

When was the last time you truly thought about the water that you drink? Most of us in the United States take for granted our access to safe, clean water. It is as simple as turning a knob on a faucet, pushing a button on the refrigerator or twisting off a cap from a bottle. The poorest and most vulnerable people of the world don't have such luxuries. This infographic is from water.org:

water.org

3.575 million people die each year from water related disease. Most of them are children. 443 million school days are lost each year due to water related illness (1). These numbers are staggering. Yet, these deaths are completely preventable. Debilitating diseases such as cholera, enteropathogenic Escherichia coli, amoebic dysentery, cryptosporidium, and schistosomiasis are all spread through fecally contaminated water.

Further, 2.6 billion people live without access to basic sanitation (2). Intestinal helminth infections such as hookworm, whipworm and ascariasis are the result of inadequate disposal of sewage and improper hygiene practices. These diseases create an immense burden of disease and perpetuate the cycle of poverty in the developing world.

In 2010, the UN General Assembly formally declared that access to clean water and sanitation is a basic human right that should be provided to all people (3). Providing access to clean water and a simple toilet can have a huge impact on global health and development. But what can we do?

- Educate yourself. Become aware of the issues surrounding water quality. As with many human problems, the issues are complex. They are political, environmental, geographic and so on. In the words of G.I. Joe, "Knowing is half the battle".  

- Spread the word. The more people that know about the problem, the more people there are to bring about solutions. As a country, we cannot continue to stick our heads in the sand and ignore the challenges outside our borders. We are members of a larger global society.

- Raise funds. There are many charities  out there that are working at building wells and latrines and providing water filtration systems. Pick one and support their efforts.

The aim of this blog is to bring awareness to the issues surrounding water and water quality and the impact to human health. Undergraduate students in microbiology and parasitology courses will be providing the content over the course of the next year. Using this website as platform, we will build a culture of awareness and social responsibility on  our campus.  It is our hope that we can do a small part to make a difference.

References

1. United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). (2006). Human Development Report 2006, Beyond Scarcity: Power, poverty and the global water crisis.

2. World Health Organization (WHO) (2006) Meeting the MDG drinking-water and sanitation target: A mid-term assessment of progress.

3. UN New Centre (2010) General Assembly declares access to clean water and sanitation is a human right.