Water Supply by Chisala Meki – Lubumbashi - UNZA, School of Public Health - Public Health

Water Supply Chisala Meki – Lubumbashi UNZA, School of Public Health cdmeki@gmail.com, +260966526445 Presentation Outline • Water • Facts about Water • Important Statistics • Importance of Water • Importance of Water in Health • Water Supply Systems Water • Water is a colourless, tasteless, and odourless substance that is essential to all forms of life that we know of. • Water is the major constituent of the fluids of organisms including man. Water makes up about 70% of human mass and covers about 70% of earths surface. • Water is the only substance that exists naturally on earth in all three physical states of matter. It is always on the move among them through the water cycle. Water • Through evaporation, precipitation and runoff, water is continuously flowing from one state to another, in what is called the Water Cycle. Facts About Water • If water covers about 70% of earth’s surface. Why is it scarce? Facts About Water • How much water is required by a person every day for drinking and domestic use? Per capita demand? • How long can a person survive without drinking water? Water and sanitation was declared a human right by United Nations Assembly in 2010. WHO and UNECE (2013) Key Aspects: Sufficient and continuous; Safe and acceptable; Physically accessible and within safe reach; Affordable to all Important Statistics Global Statistics • 748 million people lack access to safe drinking water sources. • About 2.4 billion people lack proper sanitation facilities. Developing countries in Sub-Saharan Africa are the most affected. • Only 61% of the people in sub-Saharan Africa have access to improved water supply sources compared with 90% or more in Latin America and the Caribbean, Northern Africa, and large parts of Asia. (UNICEF and WHO, 2014) Important Statistics Zambia Statistics • About 65% people have access to safe drinking water and 43% people have access to sanitation (WASHWATCH, 2016) Rural vs Urban Zambia • Access to improved water sources in rural and urban areas of Zambia is about 50% and 80% respectively. • Access to improved sanitation is about 33% and 57% in rural and urban areas of Zambia respectively. Important Statistics • Disparities within the urban areas? • There are also inadequacies in the provision of sanitation and water, especially for households in peri-urban and low-income areas leading to outbreaks of diseases (NWASCO). MDGS goal 7 and SDGS 6 on water and sanitation? Importance of Water Water is vital for economic and social development; it is essential to maintain health, grow food, manage the environment and create jobs. 1. Household (Domestic) 2. Community (Public) 3. Trade 4. Agriculture 5. Recreation Importance of Water in Health • Every year more than 3.4 million people die as a result of water, sanitation and hygiene related diseases, making it the leading cause of disease and death around the world. • Most of the victims are young children under five(5) in developing countries. • Every year an estimated 801, 000 children younger than five(5) years of age die due to diarrhoea (WHO/CDC, 2016) Importance of Water in Health • This amounts to 11% of the 7.6 million deaths of children under the age of five (5) and means that about 2,200 children are dying every day as a result of diarrheal diseases. • Unsafe drinking water, inadequate availability of water for hygiene, and lack of access to sanitation together contribute to about 88% of deaths from diarrheal diseases (WHO/CDC, 2016)