Water, a human right.
In 2010, a human rights goal was set by the UN: the right to access safe and clean water for sanitation and drinking purposes. On paper, this would mean people all over the world can access clean water, but unfortunately, this is not the reality. According to Unicef, over 2 billion people drink water which is contaminated by feces. Out of the 209.5 million inhabitants of Brazil in 2018, over 34 million Brazilians lacked access to clean drinking water and over a 100 million lacked access to proper sanitation.
People in the favelas need access to clean water. Their water supply is inconsistent and constantly contaminated. Their access to water is shut off every few days, and public distribution centers constantly run out of water. Access to clean water allows people in the favelas to stay home and isolate more easily. Furthermore, they can wash their hands more often, and with cleaner water, further reduce the spread of viruses. This will lighten the load on the public healthcare system and decrease the infection rate drastically.
Its crucial for every human to be able to access clean WASH. WASH stands for Water, Sanitation and Hygiene. These three are independent, however, it cannot be attained if one of them is missing. The design is made in such a way that it matches WASH’ standards. The water standard contains the ability of children to access clean water, without having to undertake a journey which is abnormal. Abnormal journeys would be, for example, walking for multiple hours or travelling through a war zone to access basic needs.
Sanitation is quite self-explanatory: it means to have access to proper sanitation. This way, the waste will be separated and not be consumed by humans, their food, or water supply, which will reduce the spread of diseases.
Lastly, there is hygiene, attained by allowing users to properly clean their hands and surfaces with soap. Disinfecting with soap and clean water is crucial to contain the spread of diseases. This becomes extremely relevant when considering the behavior and impact of COVID-19.
97.5% of the water resources on planet earth is saltwater, the remaining 2.5% is fresh water. Two-thirds of the resources for freshwater is found in glaciers and permanent ice covers, the remaining fresh water is made of surface and underground water. This means that not even 1% of earth’s water resources can be used by humans.
Over two million people die yearly due to waterborne diseases. Epidemiological studies researched conditions in developing countries in Africa, Asia and South America. The study portrays numbers that indicates around four billion cases of diarrheal disease per year, resulting in 2.5 million deaths a year, and for 17% of deaths among children younger than 5 years. Another study conducted in Yaounde, Cameroon, has shown a diarrheal prevalence of 14.4%, linked to contaminated drinking water.