Safe Water

Global Water Situation – Paradox

April 19, 2017
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Global Water Situation

One of the Millennium Development Goals drawn up by the WHO (World health Organization) is to halve the percentage of people without access to drinkable water. Since the end of 2011, 89% of the world population uses safe source of drinkable water, while 55% has water directly into their home. Despite this important result:

The lack of safe water sources causes tens of thousands of deaths every day, especially children.

768 million people (source: UNICEF) are still without access to safe water sources; of these people, 185 million are using surface water for their daily needs.

Other Institutions speak of more than 1,3 billion people.

In many areas of the world, between 30 and 70% of the population does not have clean water. Every minute a newborn child dies from infections due to poor hygienic conditions.

In countries where the access to drinking water, to medicines and to health facilities is limited, and the domestic and environmental context is not properly adequate, the diseases caused by poverty are the reality of their everyday life.

Diseases Caused by poverty, account for 45% of pathologies and related costs.

The World Health Organization has identified and defined what are these diseases:

Tuberculosis, Malaria, AIDS, Childhood diseases, Diarrheal diseases, Respiratory infections.

They are all treatable or preventable diseases, through appropriate behavior, healthy lifestyles and medical treatments that are existing and economically sustainable.

In many cases, it would be enough to reduce or even eliminate the "diseases caused by poverty" from the Earth; It would be enough to distribute drugs, vaccines and suitable containers to the people who need them.

Throughout this situation, there are problems that are totally underestimated.

In underdeveloped countries, millions of people collect water in normal plastic containers, that are not hygienically suitable for the purpose because they are dirty, often worn or broken, are not disinfected and are "loads" of dangerous bacteria; these normal plastic containers are vehicles for bacterial proliferation, or rather to say, they already have themselves, a source of potential transmission of infections and diseases.

Recent studies, showed that drinking from a normal plastic container which has been reused several times without any previous disinfection, can infect and sicken a human being in 60% of cases.

The researchers noted that:

After 1 day, the bacterial load is there in the normal plastic containers equal to 313,000 bacterial colonies per cm²

After 1 week there are more than 300 billion colonies of bacteria, capable of infecting and severely sicken a human being.

After 1 week of re-use, the normal plastic container brings a superior bacterial position to that we can find in a toilet bowl (wc).

In normal plastic containers (both internally and externally) lurk germs, bacteria and microorganisms that daily come in contact through:

  • the simple contact with the hands and the lips;
  • the sweat;
  • the source of collecting;
  • he free bacterial movement (the bacteria that run in the environment);
  • the temperatures;

Every year spend millions of dollars, by associations and humanitarian organizations to treat women and children who contract dysentery, diarrhea, gastro-intestinal diseases and infections.

Paradox

Hundreds of millions of dollars to build wells, channels and pipes for the water, then the water is collected in the "normal" plastic containers that are dirty, often worn or broken, are not disinfected and are "loads" of dangerous bacteria; The PARADOX lies in this: even though you collect drinking water from wells, public water supply and reservoirs, a "normal" plastic container becomes the primary source of bacterial proliferation. The proliferation of bacteria already after 20/25 minutes, with an exponential growth. The water collection in the "normal" plastic container, after 20/25 minutes, loses its potability because of the bacteria inside the "normal" plastic container. So much effort to collect drinking water, to drink it "unhealthy" with serious consequences for health! The containers become one of the key factors if it want to "reduce" the damage (disease and infection) caused by the proliferation of bacteria, microorganisms and fungi. Due to the low immune system, populations in developing Countries easily get ill; moreover, they do not have access to health care services, vaccines or medicines because, in the majority of cases, they are far away hundreds of kilometers.

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