Understanding the problems from unsafe water for community

No one can live without water. To be healthy, people need enough water and they need the water to be safe. Water is not safe when germs and worms from get into it. The germs and worms can be passed through the water or from one person to another, causing many serious health problems and affecting a whole community.

Chemicals from agriculture, industry, and mining, and trash dumping can also make our water unsafe and cause illnesses such as skin rashes, cancers, and other serious health problems. Not having enough water for drinking, cooking, and washing can lead to sickness. Especially when there is no way to wash hands after using the toilet, diarrhea diseases spread quickly from person to person. A shortage of water for personal cleanliness can also lead to infections of the eyes and skin. Lack of water can cause dehydration (losing too much water in the body) and death. Not having enough water may be due to drought (dry weather for a long time), the high cost of water, or because water has not been well conserved. Contamination of water can make the effects of water scarcity worse, and likewise, water scarcity can make contamination more serious.

Many people do not have enough water to meet their daily needs. When there is not enough water to wash, people can get infections such as scabies and trachoma. Not having enough water to drink and wash with can also cause infections of the bladder and kidneys, especially in women. In hospitals and other health centers, if there is not enough water for washing, infections can spread from person to person. Especially for children, not having enough water can mean dehydration and death. Women’s burden

When water is scarce, the people who collect and carry water — usually women and children — have to travel long distances and carry very heavy loads. This leads to injuries to their necks, backs, and hips. Collecting water often takes so much time and strength that they and their families use much less water than they would if it was plentiful. The search for water can take so much time that the other work women do to support family health, including caring for children and tending crops, does not get done. Water is used to reduce fevers and to clean wounds and skin infections. Drinking a lot of water helps to prevent and treat diarrhea, urinary infections, coughs, and constipation. Washing hands with soap and water after using the toilet and before eating or handling food also helps prevent many illnesses.

Water is unsafe when it contains germs, worms, or toxic chemicals. Germs (tiny living things, too small to see, that cause many kinds of illness) and worms, such as whipworm, hookworm, and roundworm, cause many serious illnesses. Germs and worms live in human and animal waste (urine and feces) and can cause serious and long-lasting illnesses when (1) there is not a good way to get rid of human and animal wastes. (2) Water supplies are not protected and kept clean. (3) There is not enough water to wash. Some of the illnesses they cause, such as cholera, spread quickly and can cause many deaths. Other illnesses from germs and worms can cause years of sickness and lead to other health problems such as dehydration, infections, anemia (weak blood), and malnutrition. Because the most common sign of illnesses from germs and worms is diarrhea, these illnesses are sometimes called diarrhea diseases.