Cholera, the consequence of ignoring the plight of the poor in Zambia.

TWO ignored factors that emphasize governments’ lack of sensitiveness to Zambians – overwhelmingly unacceptable poor sanitary conditions of the nation and the abysmally low levels of access to medical services – have helped in the ricocheting cholera outbreaks now being reported in Lusaka and Ndola.

It is a shame in today’s world to read that cholera cases in Zambia have hit the 443 mark extending to Ndola since the Lusaka outbreak. This far the scourge has been largely prevalent in Lusaka with Bauleni and Kanyama townships hit hardest. Sadly the only response from the government was a statement from the Local Government and Housing Minister Stephen Kampyongo announced that the sale of foodstuffs by vendors on the streets had to be suspended in light of the cholera outbreak. Nothing about efforts to clean up the country, just reacting to symptoms to unhygienic conditions.

Contaminated water, unhygienic handling and poor food preparations are among factors that aid rapid spread of cholera. Its high mortality rate is evidenced by the number of cases being reported in the media. Access to hygienic drinking water in Zambia is limited by low investment in the sector, drought, and poor planning that has seen demand for water outstrip supply for years. Cholera benefits from these, and Zambia’s public health system that is totally reactive. The health authorities pay minimal attention to preventive medicine. Even when they have advance notice of epidemics, they ignore them.

Cholera is not a tropical disease. Low standards of hygiene and quality of drinking water makes it prevalent in the tropics, parts of Asia and the Americas. In the 19th century, cholera outbreaks were common in the United States of America and Britain. Improvements in health standards, particularly drinking water and the availability of flushing toilets have distanced human waste – a great source of the disease – from water sources and made cholera a rarity in those regions.

Areas where flooding destroys toilet facilities and inject their contents into public water sources are prone to cholera. It is little wonder that the disease has facility to spread in Zambia.

In many places, water for domestic use is contaminated by poorly disposed human wastes. Yet cholera, according to the World Health Organization, WHO, “is an easily treatable disease. The prompt administration of oral rehydration salts to replace lost fluids nearly always results in cure. In especially severe cases, intravenous administration of fluids may be required to save the patient’s life.

Left untreated, however, cholera can kill quickly following the onset of symptoms. ” Water management is critical. While routine preaching about use of safe water persists, the reality is that millions of Zambians lack access to clean water. It is advisable to boil water, and avoid ice blocks that could have been made with water from doubtful sources. The cholera bacteria are known to survive the freezing process. Food needs to be cooked properly and human waste disposed in ways that would not contaminate water sources. The good, old benefits of washing hands after using toilets are still important to curtail the spread of cholera and other diseases.

The Zambian government, in view of cholera cases in Lusaka and Ndola should ask themselves how they spend the millions of Kwachas that is budget for health annually. It is a shame that in the 21st Century, hundreds of our people die from preventable causes while the government tallies the numbers and gleefully announce the statistics.

Revolutionizing Remittance Recovery in Water (R3W): Is Prepaid meters the solution to Community Managed Water Supply Systems?

Non-functionality of water points and sustainable collection and management of revenues from community managed water systems has been a constant challenge for the sector for many years. In the urban areas, the use of technology and prepaid meters have been piloted and some lessons are emerging. However, in the rural areas, this technology is yet to be tested and understood. This is what The Catholic Relief Services has been trying to do in Karatu Tanzania.

The Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and its business Denmark based partner, Grundfos LIFELINK A/S, together with a local implementing partner, the Diocese of Mbulu Development Department (DMDD), have launched an intelligent water dispensing system in Karatu Community in rural Tanzania. The project concept combines an innovative pre-paid water system (AQtap) with effective, accountable management system. Through this consumers can pay for the water via a smart card which is topped up with water credits prior to water tapping.

AQtap is a sustainable and transparent drinking water solution designed for the common water users, putting an end to non-functioning water systems by empowering the people through an intelligent infrastructure. It is designed to provide safe drinking water to small communities in rural communities around the world.

Drilled into the groundwater, the device consists of a turnkey water solution (pump) for remote communities without access to water and electricity. It encompasses both the water solution itself and a business model, ensuring long-term environmental, financial and social sustainability.

Why this Pilot

The use of prepaid meters systems is not a new concept but one that is gaining interest from many stakeholders in water supply across the globe. For CRS and its partners, this pilot is an opportunity to demonstrate how the AQtap can address two of the most critical challenges facing the Tanzanian rural water supply and sanitation sector – the non-functionality of water points and how to sustainably collect and manage revenues from community managed water systems.

This pilot offers and opportunity to explore the potential of prepaid meters for serving rural poor communities that heavily rely on community managed water systems. This pilot will provide rural water supply practitioners, oversight agencies, and other stakeholders with a basis for decision-making on the suitability, introduction, and management of such meters in rural areas.

The pilot hope to address three core issues that characterize the current water supply system in Karatu and Tanzania. (1)  how and when fees are collected which is not standardized across all water-users, (2) how to improve internal controls to track  transactions and know that actual value of revenue collected, how the revenues are used, (3) lack of understanding of roles and responsibilities of community members, in water governance as well as the mandate of COWSOs.

WASH & MNCH

Safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) are critical to people’s health and well-being, and especially to maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH). Almost 10% of the global burden of disease is attributable to unsafe WASH and women and children are most affected by the consequences of poor access to these services. Diarrheal disease, resulting from contaminated food and water sources, is a leading cause of child mortality and morbidity in the world, and diarrhoea is a major cause of malnutrition. Women and girls bear the burden of water collection – and as a result miss out on opportunities for education, leisure time or productive activities. The lack of safe, separate and private sanitation and washing facilities in schools is one of the main factors preventing girls’ attendance at school. As such, improvements in WASH are key to improving women and children’s health in high burden countries. A stronger WASH sector, and better coordination between the health and WASH sectors, is essential to achieving this goal.

We need to appreciate WASH now more than ever before. Could it be the reason why we still have health challenges particularly in Africa is because we have ignored the role of WASH in development. I should literate that we can run to end of the highway and come back no better than before until we learn how to bring WASH to the fold and forefront of our community development interventions.

Shit Eaters

World Water Day 2015 Trailer WaterIs: Health. Nature. Urbanization. Industry. Energy. Food. Equality.

Water is Sustainable Development and Water is Our World.

And this video is the official World Water Day 2015 Trailer – please share and spread the word!

The UN Secretary-General’s Message on World Water Day 22 March 2015

This year, as the UN prepares to adopt a new post-2015 sustainable development agenda in September, World Water Day highlights the essential and interconnected role of water.  We rely on water for public health and equitable progress, it is essential for food and energy security, and it underpins the functioning of industries.

The onset of climate change, growing demand on finite water resources from agriculture, industry and cities, and increasing pollution in many areas are hastening a water crisis that can only be addressed by cross-sectoral, holistic planning and policies – internationally, regionally and globally.

Among the most urgent issues are access to safe drinking water and sanitation.  Despite progress under the Millennium Development Goals, adopted in 2000, some 750 million people — more than one in ten of the world’s population — remain without access to an improved water supply.  Women and children, in particular, are affected by this lack, as not only is their health compromised, but considerable hours are wasted in the unproductive – and sometimes dangerous – business of collecting water.

The statistics on sanitation are even less encouraging.  Some 2.5 billion people still live without improved sanitation, and a billion people practice open defecation, making sanitation the least successful area of the MDGs.  We cannot achieve a world of dignity, health and prosperity for all until we address this urgent need.

Our sustainable future is also jeopardized by climate change, which is why United Nations Member States are working hard towards a meaningful, universal climate agreement this December in Paris.  Over the coming years, greenhouse gas emissions will have to significantly decline in order to avert the worst impacts of climate change, which include changed weather patterns and the threat of water scarcity in large parts of the world.

To address the many challenges related to water, we must work in a spirit of urgent cooperation, open to new ideas and innovation, and prepared to share the solutions that we all need for a sustainable future.  If we do so, we can end poverty, promote global prosperity and well-being, protect the environment and withstand the threat of climate change.

Water is health – Clean hands can save your life.

Water is essential to human health. The human body can last weeks without food, but only days without water. Water is essential to our survival. Regular handwashing, is for example one of the best ways to remove germs, avoid getting sick, and prevent the spread of germs to others. Up to one trillion germs can live in one gram of poop.

As for the human body, in average it is made of  50-65% water. Babies have the highest percentage of water; newborns are 78% water.  Every day, every person needs access to water for drinking, cooking and personal hygiene. Water is essential for sanitation facilities that do not compromise health or dignity. The World Health Organization recommends 7.5 liters per capita per day will meet the requirements of most people under most conditions. A higher quantity of about 20 liters per capita per day will take care of basic hygiene needs and basic food hygiene.

Despite impressive gains made over the last decade, 748 million people do not have access to an improved source of drinking water and 2.5 billion do not use an improved sanitation facility. Investments in water and sanitation services result in substantial economic gains. The return on investment of attaining universal access to improved sanitation has been estimated at 5.5 to 1, whereas for universal access of improved drinking-water sources the ration is estimated to be 2 to 1.To cover every person worldwide with safe water and sanitation is estimated to cost US$ 107 billion a year over a five-year period.

– See more at: http://www.unwater.org/worldwaterday/learn/en/?section=c325504#sthash.XX9atwJj.dpuf

Water is equality Every day women spend 200 million hours carrying water.

In developing nations the responsibility for collecting water every day falls disproportionately on women and girls. On average women in these regions spend 25 percent of their day collecting water for their families. This is time not spent working at an income-generating job, caring for family or attending school. Investments in water and sanitation show substantial economic gains. Every dollar invested shows a return between US$5 and US$28.

Climate change negatively impacts fresh water sources. Current projections show that freshwater-related risks rise significantly with increasing greenhouse gas emissions, exacerbating competition for water among all uses and users, affecting regional water, energy and food securities. Combined with increased demands for water, this will create huge challenges for water resources management.

Natural hazards are inevitable but much can be done to reduce the high number of death and destruction tolls. Ill-advised human activity can both create and accelerate the impact of water-related disasters. These water threats have been increasing with climate change and human activities, in the North and South of our planet, from East to West. But, with preparedness and planning, fatalities and destruction can be decreased. The global community has committed itself to the principles of coherent disaster prevention and response. The need is now for concrete and significant changes to make this happen.

– See more at: http://www.unwater.org/worldwaterday/learn/en/?section=c325504#sthash.XX9atwJj.dpuf

Water is food To produce two steaks you need 15 000 liters of water.

Each American uses 7,500 litres of water per day—mostly for food. One litre of water is needed to irrigate one calorie food. Inefficient water use can mean 100 litres are used to produce one calorie. Irrigation takes up to 90% of water withdrawn in some developing countries. Globally, agriculture is the largest user of water, accounting for 70% of total withdrawal.

By 2050, agriculture will need to produce 60% more food globally, and 100% more in developing countries.

Economic growth and individual wealth are shifting diets from predominantly starch-based to meat and dairy, which require more water. Producing 1 kilo rice, for example, requires about 3,500 litres of water, while 1 kilo of beef some 15,000 litres. This shift in diet is the greatest to impact on water consumption over the past 30 years, and is likely to continue well into the middle of the twenty-first century.

The current growth rates of agricultural demands on the world’s freshwater resources are unsustainable. Inefficient use of water for crop production depletes aquifers, reduces river flows, degrades wildlife habitats, and has caused salinization of 20% of the global irrigated land area. To increase efficiency in the use of water, agriculture can reduce water losses and, most importantly, increase crop productivity with respect to water.

With increased intensive agriculture, water pollution may worsen. Experience from high income countries shows that a combination of incentives, including more stringent regulation, enforcement and well-targeted subsidies, can help reduce water pollution.

– See more at: http://www.unwater.org/worldwaterday/learn/en/?section=c325504#sthash.XX9atwJj.dpuf

Water is energy Water and energy are inseparable friends.

Water and energy are natural partners. Water is required to generate energy. Energy is required to deliver water.

Today over 80% of power generation is by thermal electricity. Water is heated to create steam to drive electrical generators. Billions of gallons of water are also needed for cooling. This requires limiting construction and use of the least efficient coal-fired power plants. Worldwide hydropower accounts for 16% of global electricity production  – an expected 3700 major dams may more than double the total electricity capacity of hydropower within the next two decades.

New energy production should use widely adopting dry-cooling or highly efficient closed-loop cooling technologies. Using alternative water sources, such as sea or wastewater, offers a great potential for reducing the pressures on freshwater resources.

Renewable energy comes from resources which are naturally replenished such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, waves and geothermal heat. These do not require large quantities of fresh water.

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– See more at: http://www.unwater.org/worldwaterday/learn/en/?section=c325504#sthash.XX9atwJj.dpuf