More
than 3.4 million people die each year from water, sanitation, and hygiene-related
causes; unhealthy water mostly affects infants and young children. This topic is very meaningful to me because
access to healthy water is the most basic human need, it is a necessity for a
healthy life. 780 million people lack access to clean water, mostly in third
world countries (World Health Organization, 2008).
According
to UNICEF, lack of clean water leads to diseases and death of more than 1.6
million young children each year. Lack of separate and decent sanitation
facilities at schools often forces girls to drop out of primary school;
therefore most girls in developing countries are not educated (2003), this
affects the future generations. In
Africa, women have to spend several hours each day finding a clean source and
transporting heavy containers of water. Without clean water, they cannot grow
food, so they cannot stay healthy. Due to the lack of proper health condition,
nutrition and education, children cannot develop in a healthy way.
It is
sad to see that so many people in Africa don't have access to clean water and suffer
from various diseases; the average American uses 176 gallons of water per day
compared to 5 gallons of water the average African family uses each day (www.water.org). Water in third world countries is also much
more expensive that water in developed countries; this also decreases the
access to clean water in poor families.
Hi Ghayna,
ReplyDeleteIt is amazing how we can take things like this for granted in America. We just turn on the faucet and we have water. I know there are times when we must conserve because of the water levels becoming low, but for the most part, we always have plenty of water. Water is the most vital need for the body and we should take better care of what we have here in America. I know I try to conserve because it is important to take care of what God has given us. My heart goes out the people in Africa and the other countries who must survive because of the lack of good drinking water. Awesome post.
Ghayna,
ReplyDeleteSometimes you don't think about the things that you take for granted. If we are thirsty we can go to the sink and turn on the water and have a drink or we open a bottle of water. Thank your for reminding us of how lucky we are.