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