An approximate 1.1 billion people worldwide do not have access to clean water. Spaces with fluctuating populations, war-torn areas, and locations with unorganized management systems, like Kenya, Uganda, and Liberia, have particular problems in sanitizing water. In war-ravaged areas of Liberia, people do not have access to proper latrines. Therefore, the fecal matter eventually finds its way back into the water system. (Some cultures believe that if a woman stands over a pit latrine, she will fail to conceive a child!) Diarrhea and diarrheal-related diseases, a simple fix for us here in the United States, affect an estimated 2 million people worldwide. Unfortunately, due to a weakened immune system, the majority of deaths by diarrhea are in young children or the elderly.
So what’s the solution? How do we solve this global crisis? Primarily through education. By educating people on how to properly dispose of waste, feces is prevented from entering the water system. Further education on how to sanitize water, how to filter it, and how to manage it without contamination is also a necessity.
The larger question within this question, however, is how do we determine who to give aid to? How can we choose who “needs” it most? For the most part, officials use a WPI, or water poverty index. The WPI is based on access and availability to water and legitimate poverty, the inability to afford clean water. Studies done in Kenya have proven that while the final WPI number is calculable, it is, in fact, just a number. There are other extraneous and unforeseeable variables involved in water poverty. All in all, the United States legislators, supposedly, consider water quality to be a top concern. In summary, I urge you to think the next time you leave the water running of what a privilege it is to have clean water. In some areas, clean water is a myth.
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