EDITORIAL: Waterborne diseases such as diarrhoea, dysentery, typhoid and hepatitis A are taking a heavy toll on public health and its economic costs.
According to a study “Determining the Health Cost of Inadequate Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene in Pakistan” unveiled by WaterAid in Islamabad on Wednesday, households, particularly lower income groups, face a health cost of Rs 116 billion annually due to inadequate access to water.
‘Inadequate’ appears to be a euphemism, though, considering that 80 percent of the population has no choice but to use contaminated water for drinking and other needs.
Poor sanitation and hygiene also are directly associated with dearth or insufficient availability of clean drinking water.
Worst-affected are the people living in the rural hinterlands, where women walk long distances to fetch water for drinking, cooking and other household needs from polluted ponds, where cattle also quench their thirst and bathe. Many others collect water from rivers and canals, into which are freely dumped industrial waste, toxic chemicals, effluents from agriculture and all sorts of other hazardous pollutants. In the urban areas piped water supplies often get mixed with leakages from sewerage drains, making it unfit for human consumption. Sadly but unsurprising, contaminated water is a major source of transmission of various life-threatening diseases. Whilst the incidence of typhoid and hepatitis A is way too high, as per a report of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, diarrhoea accounts for as many as 60 percent of infant deaths in Pakistan. Sadly but unsurprising, lower income groups bear the burden of otherwise preventable diseases, spending their meagre resources to seek treatment in over-stressed hospitals and other healthcare facilities. As a result, ill-health impoverishes families and adversely impacts economic activity.
Unfortunately, the people’s representatives in the assemblies as well as governments at the Centre and in the provinces seem to be least interested in addressing the water issue. In fact, it is not uncommon to see people taking water from dirty ponds in the home constituencies of several prominent politicians. As the population is growing at a rapid rate and effects of climate change are worsening, water insecurity, already a problem, will further aggravate. In any event, access to clean drinking water is a basic human right. It ought to be fairly distributed among all citizens. Our policymakers must give due attention to the need of providing quality water to all. That calls for an efficient and effective management of water resources. Also in order are public and private sector investments on preventive healthcare services.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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