Mario Alejandro Calvo Pineda.

DRINKING WATER AND SANITATION.

Poor access to clean water and sanitation is a problem that causes

repercutions in a lot of people from all over the world, mainly because of
illnesses that are caused by contaminated water . Therefore, this paper
studies how supply of clean drinking water and proper sanitation across
the globe and disease caused by unsafe water and sanitation.

Human body comprises of 70% water, and a person can die if he/she
lacks water to drink due to dehydration within a very short time. On the
other hand, consumption of unsafe water can also contribute to
complications in the human body, which can even result to death.
Therefore, clean drinking water is an essential product in the human
body. Lack of clean water and proper sanitation services have adverse
effects on public health across the globe. According to statistics,
diarrhea kills about 2 million people globally every year, with the majority
being children especially those below the age of 5 years. Numerous
diseases such as diarrhea among other tropical diseases are contracted
as a result of human contact with infected water, and this is the main
cause of illnesses and deaths annually. In addition, flies, mosquitoes,
and other vectors, which normally breed in water also contribute to many
illnesses and even deaths. Establishment of proper drainage
systems and good sewerage play a vital role in eliminating breeding
grounds for such vectors. Furthermore, water can be treated in order to
eliminate bacteria that are found in tainted water.

Proper sanitation is also deficient among many people in the globe. Lack
or proper sanitation have mainly been characterized with worldwide
shortfalls in indispensable access to a hygienic toilet, and deficient
service provision and household standards (Bourne, 1994). For
instance, wastewater is usually limited by only concentrating on
collection of domestic liquid waste, with very little or no investment on
the treatment of waste before it is disposed into water courses. Poor
people in many countries suffer from such low quality of services.
Lack of clean drinking water and sanitation has adverse effects on poor
farmers as well as wage earners. As a matter of facts, poor wage
earners and farmers especially in developing countries are less
productive because of frequent illness contributed use of unsafe drinking
water and poor sanitation. In turn, this has a negative effect on the
economy of such countries in the sense that, national economies suffer
high health expenditures and health systems are overwhelmed due to
increased cases of sickness.

As a result of serious problems associated with lack of clean water and

improved sanitation, UNICEF has played a very critical role in improving
sanitation facilities and water supplies in communities and schools in
about 90 countries in which it operates. Furthermore, it has played a
considerable role in promoting safe hygienic practices. Their initiative
has been successful in many countries because UNICEF works closely
with communities, families, like-minded organizations as well as
governments.