Every year millions of people die from diseases caused by lack of access to clean water. Tens of millions of others suffer illnesses brought on by the same. The United Nations considers clean water supplies a basic human right. It is paramount to bodily functions and even affects other areas of human life like the economy. This one little thing can make or break a country. It can bring about immense benefits or it can lower a country to the gutters.
There are guidelines set to determine whether a population is being provided for in this respect. The first is quantity. A human being consumes more than 20 liters a day. This amount goes towards drinking, food preparation, and personal hygiene. The amount can be more. The crisis is present because a significant number of people all over the world live on less than this. The same population does not have safe hydration leave alone enough.
Quality is a cornerstone of safe hydration. The WHO has outlined guidelines for determination of safety. There is a prescribed criterion of chemical and microbial characteristics. Anything less or more is hazardous to human life. It is considered a major negation of the basic human rights articles.
Most sections of the population rely on surface water. This is derived from rain/seasons. The issue with this is that there are periods of dryness in between rainy seasons. During these times, it is advisable that the people look into groundwater harvesting. However, if nature does not take initiative to replenish this source man-made options should be explored. Another point of concern with regards to reliability is the distribution system. This is easier to deal with as it is with human control.
There are two aspects to the cost of safe hydration for the people. The first is obviously monetary. The amount the authorities charge to have piping delivered to a home. The second aspect is for those who cannot afford to pipe water to their homes. This is time measured. How much time does it take to get to the nearest hydration point?
Storage is a huge problem. It can easily taint safe resource. It should be stored in food grade containers. The containers should be labeled so that they are not left for too long. Plastic soda bottles can be reused for this purpose but after cleaning. It is harder to get bacteria out of milk and juice containers so those should not be contenders.
Children are very vastly affected by this crisis. Every 90 minutes a child dies from a disease directly or indirectly brought about by dirty hydration practice. This is only the tip of the iceberg that is the health crisis. A large portion of this iceberg is caused by unsafe hydration.
Hundreds of billions are lost each year due to this crisis. If the problem were abolished, the world would save about $ 30 Billion that would have otherwise gone to medical attention for people who are afflicted with hydration related issues.
There are guidelines set to determine whether a population is being provided for in this respect. The first is quantity. A human being consumes more than 20 liters a day. This amount goes towards drinking, food preparation, and personal hygiene. The amount can be more. The crisis is present because a significant number of people all over the world live on less than this. The same population does not have safe hydration leave alone enough.
Quality is a cornerstone of safe hydration. The WHO has outlined guidelines for determination of safety. There is a prescribed criterion of chemical and microbial characteristics. Anything less or more is hazardous to human life. It is considered a major negation of the basic human rights articles.
Most sections of the population rely on surface water. This is derived from rain/seasons. The issue with this is that there are periods of dryness in between rainy seasons. During these times, it is advisable that the people look into groundwater harvesting. However, if nature does not take initiative to replenish this source man-made options should be explored. Another point of concern with regards to reliability is the distribution system. This is easier to deal with as it is with human control.
There are two aspects to the cost of safe hydration for the people. The first is obviously monetary. The amount the authorities charge to have piping delivered to a home. The second aspect is for those who cannot afford to pipe water to their homes. This is time measured. How much time does it take to get to the nearest hydration point?
Storage is a huge problem. It can easily taint safe resource. It should be stored in food grade containers. The containers should be labeled so that they are not left for too long. Plastic soda bottles can be reused for this purpose but after cleaning. It is harder to get bacteria out of milk and juice containers so those should not be contenders.
Children are very vastly affected by this crisis. Every 90 minutes a child dies from a disease directly or indirectly brought about by dirty hydration practice. This is only the tip of the iceberg that is the health crisis. A large portion of this iceberg is caused by unsafe hydration.
Hundreds of billions are lost each year due to this crisis. If the problem were abolished, the world would save about $ 30 Billion that would have otherwise gone to medical attention for people who are afflicted with hydration related issues.
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