Clean Water, a deadly crisis during a Global Pandemic

For many of us, clean water is so plentiful and readily available that we rarely, if ever, pause to consider what life would be like without it. “ – Marcus Samuelsson. This quote serves as a reality check for us that numerous countries in the present has little to no access to clean water. This is evident in approximately 785 million people lacking even a basic drinking-water service, including 144 million people who are dependent on surface water. Consequently, this would negatively impact government and citizen’s security during the global pandemic of COVID-19. Pursuing this further, the virus is known for spreading through human transmission, and prevention procedure includes washing our hands frequently or sanitising, however, this puts countries who lacks of access of clean water into jeopardy.

Firstly, water is a basic need for survival for living things, particularly human societies. It has numerous health benefits such as maintaining a regular body temperature which is particularly important during hot climates or when undergoing demanding physical activity. Moreover, water protects the body’s tissues and joints and allow an extensive range of motion to conduct daily activities. Also, water allows the body to absorb minerals and amino acids which is beneficial to the body. In relevance to that, it allows the body to get rid of any waste products which goes through perspiration and urination. Additionally, water is essential in improving the blood oxygen levels which leads to better circulation for the body and increased health.

Besides that, water sanitation is important in preventing health risks and diseases. The impact of contaminated water can cause diseases such as diarrhea, cholera, dysentery, typhoid and pollo. Notably, 2 billion people rely on water sources that are contaminated with feces. This is because in many least developed countries a percentage of their health care services have no water and sanitation service which gives them a higher chance of contracting the possible diseases.

Therefore, safe and accessible water for health and sanitation has an influence towards the pandemic COVID-19 to a certain extent. Particularly the virus showcases symptoms that are similar to colds and flu and hydrating the body must be performed to prevent COVID-19 from worsening in the body or preventing the virus in general. Above all, the situation of access to clean water has become a critical health issue during the global pandemic which must come into light to prevent more cases and more deaths.

Firstly, in terms of clean water and sanitation, countries at risk depend on their geographical location, such as  small island developing states. According to the United Nations, the SIDS include environmental and socioeconomic vulnerability towards natural disasters and climate change. Furthermore, the United Nations predicted that 52% of the global population will live in water-stressed regions by 2050, an unfortunate warning that the ever-increasing demand of this basic need will face more conflicts and issues in supplying this demand.

Besides that, the World Vision International, a humanitarian aid organization, listed Mozambique, Niger, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Angola, Somalia, Ethiopia, Uganda, Papua New Guinea, and Eritrea as countries suffering with poor living conditions. Despite resulting varying levels, they all showcase common characteristics in their lack of basic needs and sanitation. Firstly, the people are most likely having access to open sourced water which has a higher chance of it being contaminated by human and animal wastes. This can lead to unsanitary drinking water which affects the health of both the children and adults living in these countries in the long term. Secondly another common issue that is experienced is the lack of knowledge of proper hygiene that should be adapted in families. As these families live in small isolated communities there is a lack of basic water services. This leads to around 289,000 children who die each year of diarrhea related diseases due to access to clean water.

Since the pandemic, more than 90 developing countries sought for financial assistance in emergency funding from the International Monetary Fund and fortunately, 24 of the low-income member countries of the MIF are gaining advantages due to the immediate debt relief. In addition, the concern of availability of healthcare is due to the lack of resources. For example, there is an average of 2,2 qualified healthcare workers per 1,000 people in African countries. On the other hand, European countries have 14 qualified healthcare workers per 1,000. Additionally, Nigeria reported to have less than 500 ventilators, despite it being essential for the treatment for patients with higher severity of COVID-19. Moreover, there are less than 2,000 functioning ventilators accessible to treat the total population of 41 African countries. Not to mention, besides COVID-19, African countries are still prone to tropical diseases which are parasitical, HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis and cholera. This is reported in Southern Africa Western Cape province with HIV or tuberculosis have a higher than 2-fold increased risk of death from COVID-19. Not to mention, the Guardian reported that the under-five mortality rate is 47.8 per 1000 births, above the international average of 39.  However, according to the World Health Organisation, improved water for sanitation could safeguard from at least 9.1% of global disease burden and 6.3% of deaths. Despite that, 4.2 billion do not have access to services of sanitation and 3 billion do not have handwashing facilities. This suggests that some African countries remain to have less developed health facilities which might cause more difficulties in preventing and treating diseases and viruses of COVID-19 and other tropical diseases and may be challenged with malnutrition due to the lack of access to clean water. Furthermore, this raises a major concern of easing the spread of COVID-19 and even increasing the severity of the virus due to waterborne diseases being common.

In the midst of the pandemic, access to clean water has worsened for certain countries. For example in Papua New Guinea in August 2020 the number of cases have increased due to lack of access to clean water. Despite the outbreak being a small fraction of 24 million COVID-19 cases worldwide (as of August 2020), the risk is present in Pacific island’s vulnerability in controlling the transmission through vulnerable communities.  Furthermore, in the rural villages in the Morobe Province in order to obtain water, women have to carry a 20 liter water container from their village to a stream or well which are the only sources of water for them. They then have to walk back a long distance while carrying the water so that they can use it for washing and cleaning. Although Papua New Guinea experiences 3,000mm rainfall annually, the country does not have the facilities for storage and distribution of safe water.

Pursuing this further, the World Health Organization advised that washing hands frequently is essential in combating COVID-19, yet  4.2 billion people, accounting 55% of the global population, do not have efficient and effective access to clean water. Instead, nearly 1 billion have partial access or shut-offs when piped water is not available which creates further restrictions in the availability of hand-washing.  This signifies the lack of facilities that adjusts with the climatic conditions of the region which can ease the access of obtaining water and further improve the management of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Generally, countries classified as an SIDS such as Timor Leste need to be paid particular attention to prevent severity of the mismanagement of COVID-19. In particular, low-lying islands face issues towards rising sea levels as freshwater moves inland which decreases the groundwater. Consequently, this reduces the supply for the growing demand of freshwater resources which further puts restrictions on economic resources while threatening ecosystems, particularly marine ecosystems and its biodiversity. Low-lying islands which suffer from lack of access with clean water are Papua New Guinea due to their lack of infrastructure for safe distribution of rainfall water. Secondly, the listed countries that World Vision International showcase similar trends of conditions due to the lack of clean water. This signifies the lack of resources and infrastructure that prevents the accessibility of clean water, but also prevents citizens to be educated upon sanitation and health.

Pursuing this further, in light of the pandemic, it’s observed that lack of clean water and sanitation influences third world countries to face challenges in controlling the transmission of COVID-19. Despite recording less cases in comparison to developed countries, the results from secondary sources showcase concerns regarding countries with less developed health facilities in comparison to developed countries. Notably, there are other diseases and illnesses other than COVID-19 present in developing countries such as waterborne illnesses as a result of the lack of availability of clean water and tropical diseases in which water is essential in treatment. Thus, the government of third world countries still has to acknowledge these illnesses and ensure that health facilities are developed enough to be able to maintain capacity of patients and receive treatment to decrease the death toll. Moreover, in relation to health facilities, the data has weakness only reporting confirmed cases of COVID-19, not taking into account citizens who have COVID-19, yet, has not been reported or confirmed yet through a test. This highlights the issue of under-reporting present in third-world countries due to the low supply of testing kits, further suggesting the lack of resources due to a less developed economy. Hence, in accordance to the Results section, the lack of access of clean water has caused more difficulties of third-world countries to manage the pandemic, hence, seeking assistance from international organizations for emergency funding.

Providing better quality water is not an easy task as different countries have different economic standpoints which makes it harder for governments to invest their revenue. Nonetheless, governments especially of third-world countries should consider investing in improved water quality since COVID-19 can be transmitted more easily when people do not adapt a clean way of living. This can be done by providing clean water in health facilities this helps not only contracting COVID-19 but also other known diseases that are caused due to poor sanitation such as diarrhea related diseases. Local governments can provide local taps that are accessible and require no transportation for families living in rural areas. Sewer systems can also be installed in order for wastes to be filtered and not be mixed into clean water. Other solutions may also include investments in education so that people in developed countries can adapt to a cleaner and healthier lifestyle. Although investments for facilities would be costly in the beginning it will surely be beneficial in the long term as there would be less patients who get sick leading to better management of costs needed for medicine and healthcare workers that are needed to care for the patients.

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