Water and woes

WaterAid is a registered charity having network in many countries of the world. While visiting its stall at Copenhagen in connection with the 4th Congress on Women, this writer received a 'Brief' on the State of the World's Water 2016. Admittedly, water has emerged as the most precious, and most contested essential resource. The bone chilling news is that today, more than 650 million of the world's poorest people are living without access to 'improved' source of drinking water. The cost of this denial is deadly in terms of wasted income, ill-health, and lost productivity.
"It is often assumed that the poorest people in the world don't have formal water supplies because they cannot afford the bills. In fact, the poorest are already paying, and often far more than fellow citizens who might be lucky enough or wealthy enough to have'official' water point," the Brief said. Horrifyingly, more than 40 per cent of the population do not have access to even a basic water facility such as a protected well. "People from impoverished, and marginalised communities have no choice but to collect dirty water from open ponds and rivers, or spend large chunks of their income buying water from vendors". What is the cost? "Globally, diarrheal diseases caused by dirty water and poor sanitation are the second biggest child killer after pneumonia, taking 315,000 young lives every year". The Brief forecast that the sources water are being turned extremely fragile as population grow, land use changes and deforestation continues, to be exacerbated further by the effects of climate change. This brings in a disproportionately large impact on poor people without safe, reliable water supply.
The Brief views that access to affordable water is a human right, and paying for water and sanitation services must not constrain access to other services. "Achieving the Global Goals for Sustainable Development will be impossible in a world where one in ten people are trapped in a cycle of poverty and disease for want of a safe, affordable water supply of their own."
Glance at the following four effects of unsafe water on health and work: unsafe water and poor sanitation are the second biggest child killer - taking 315,000 children's lives every year. Second, half of child malnutrition is associated with unsafe water, inadequate sanitation and poor hygiene. Third, business productivity is hit hard by staff absenteeism, turnover and low morale related to lack of access to clean, safe water in work places. Finally, walking, queuing and carrying jerrycans wastes time: in Sub-Saharan Africa, women spend a combined total of at least 16 million hours each day collecting drinking water. Among the top ten countries with the greatest number of people living without access to safe water, India tops the list followed by China; Bangladesh stands 8th. In Papua New Guine, 60 per cent of population is without safe water. In Papua New Guinea, cost of 50 liter of water (recommended by WHO per person per day) from a water delivery service is 1.84 pounds which is 54 per cent of a typical poor person's salary. In India, about 76 million people or 6 per cent of population - mostly living on 3 pounds per day - are without safe water where 140,000 child deaths per year are due to diarrohoea. If they have to buy 50 liters of water from water vendor daily, the cost is 0.50 pounds or 17 per cent of typical poor person's salary.
There are three big reasons for the struggle to access water. First, chronic under-funding for services, lack of political will to prioritise clean water and toilets for all. In many poor countries water infrastructure exist but effective institutions and management regimes are lacking.
The calculus of cost-benefit shows that there is high pay-offs - indicating critical need for urgent political action. "To install a basic water facility and functioning toilet, and keep them going for 10 years, can cost as little as 70 pounds per person. And for every 1 pound invested in water and sanitation, an average of at least 4 pounds is returned in increased productivity. Aound 315,000 children's lives could be saved every year, and many more children would have the nutrition they need to grow and live full lives," the Brief says.
It is thus no wonder that WaterAid calls for the following urgent actions to reach everyone everywhere:  respective government's increase in dramatic and long-term increase in public and private financing for water, sanitation and hygiene; Donor governments' aid to the most needed sectors and tie them with national systems and plans;  private-public partnership in providing services; integrated approach on the part of the governments to ensure that improving access to water, sanitation and hygiene services is embedded in plans, and programmes on health, nutrition, education, gender equity and employment.
Finally, WaterAid publishes the long list of countries with percentage of population living without access to safe water in 2016. There are 42 countries with safe water. From South Asia only Bhutan is in this glorious group. Same number of countries have 1-5 per cent of population without safe water but none from South Asia. Bangladesh is reported to have 13 per cent of its population without safe water with Sri Lanka 4, Pakistan 9 and India 6 per cent. It is 40 per cent plus in 12 countries. Admittedly Bangladesh has made modest progress over time, but more needs to be done. Be it per capita income or HDI, access to safe water seem to have a say on graduation.
The writer is a Professor
of Economics,
Jahangirnagar University.
[email protected]