THE IMPACT OF SAFE DRINKING WATER

Table of Contents
Abstract
1
Introduction
2
Limitations &
Methodology
3-4
Literature
Review
5-7
Body 813
Conclusion 14
Original Research.
15
Bibliography 1617

RUNNING HEAD: THE IMPACT OF WATER IN AFRICA

Abstract
The question I am studying is: How does access to safe drinking water impact disease
rates and the standard of living in Africa? Water is a basic building block and a basic need that
we must have to survive and those in Africa dont have access to the clean water we have.
Women and children walk miles to collect water that has been contaminated, which causes them
to suffer from diseases and potentially losing their lives. Throughout Africa waterborne diseases
are frequently the cause of death since every sip of water people take could potentially harbor
deadly viruses. Not having access to safe/clean water can also impact education, poverty, and
hunger in numerous ways. Although there is a lot of access to unsafe water there are plenty of
solutions that are being created to remedy those problems.

RUNNING HEAD: THE IMPACT OF WATER IN AFRICA

Introduction
In Africa access to safe drinking water scarce which puts many citizens lives in danger.
Lacking safe drinking water increases the chances of diseases such as cholera and typhoid fever.
Throughout the world, eighty percent of illness and death are due to unsafe drinking water and
poor sanitation conditions. If we start today, we can decrease the number of deaths and improve
the standard of living there in Africa. Did you know...? One in five deaths under the age of five
are caused by diseases from water.
In a developing country such as Africa it is hard to access to safe drinking water,
however, if we set up different water projects we will be able to bring clean water to them and
save more lives. Each year more than 840,000 people die from a water related disease but when
they are introduced to clean water that death rate number decreases. Starting in Africa will allow
us to extend our research and projects to neighboring continents or countries to improve those
lives by easy projects such as The Water Project.
Unfortunately, we do not have a lot of money to help us extend the Water Project, for
example, my plan is to raise money on http://www.thewaterproject.org/health to provide clean
water and sanitation in Africa. Access to clean water can help many other situations such as
gaining education, less hunger, better health, and less poverty. If we can raise enough money to
help those countries in Africa then we will be able to improve the standard of living for all
Africans. This topic is very important to me, although there is a short period of time to help; the
time spent can make a huge difference in many lives and I would be grateful to say I changed a
life other than my own.

RUNNING HEAD: THE IMPACT OF WATER IN AFRICA

Limitations of Study & Methodology

My main focus is how would bringing access to safe drinking water in Africa impact the
standard of living so that is the basis of my paper. Since I do not have enough time to witness the
situation first hand; I will not be able to share my views on the issues that are taking place in
Africa during this time period. What I am trying to accomplish through my research is how to
help create better living conditions for those in Africa by allowing them to be able to live the
American Dream and have their basic needs instead of only some of them. Those living in Africa
are more of African descent, so I will specifically focus on Africans of all ages. Based on my
research, I have already done I have noticed the water project affects children the most because it
not only affects their chance of survival but it also impacts their education. I am open to a lot of
different views when it comes to this situation because I have always had a passion for what is
going on in Africa. I previously started a paper on the water issues in Rwanda and the conflict
between the Tutsis and the Hutus. However, I am not going into depth about specific countries I
am focused mainly on the continent as a whole because it is easier to compare Africa to other
countries such as North America or Europe.
I have multiple perspectives in my methodology research for my paper. I started with
researching background information to help me better understand the problem that is going on
within Africa and how things have improved or stayed the same. I have noticed Africa is dealing
with tough times because having unsafe water leads to other complications such as a decrease in
education, high poverty rates, and more. I have statistics on the percentages of people who
currently lack clean water and what sections of Africa (rural or urban) need more water. Having
qualitative and quantitative research methods really helps to bring my paper together because it
allows me to look at different perspectives that will help shape my paper in a better way. I use
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RUNNING HEAD: THE IMPACT OF WATER IN AFRICA

the internet for some of my research; I also used the online data bases that were provided by the
school because they provided more information and better resources to write about. I am
currently starting an interview via. Email with a director of Africa Heartwood Project who was
interested in helping with my research. My goal is to travel to Africa as an intern for AHP I could
do an internship over in Africa to actually help get involved with their water projects but I am
unable to at this time. Since traveling isnt an option at this time, I am collecting donations on
The Water Projects website to help build a well to help save the lives of many people.

RUNNING HEAD: THE IMPACT OF WATER IN AFRICA

Literature Review

Research has been conducted on the subject of safe drinking water, disease rates, and the
standards of living in Africa. Most of the research found is based on websites that come directly
from Africa or those who are trying to help Africa such as thewaterproject.org. Other sources
found were in books and websites created by citizens who want to make a change.
The study of how access to safe drinking water will impact the standard of living and
disease rates in Africa has been a major issue for the last few years. Unfortunately most of Africa
does not have what they need to better themselves as a whole and keep surviving day to day.
Most people may think why is this topic important? It is because everyday someone passes away
due to these unsafe living conditions. In 2012 studies were completed by the Network of African
Science Academies showing sanitation and water was the major issues and would be the main
focus. Shockingly, over 25 countries will be dealing with water issues within the next few years
which show the increase in unsafe water. The study examined the water issues, the experiences,
and how Africa got to be this way.
(Global, 2014)
The next article is from The Water Project. The Water Project is an organization that is
being spread worldwide; they collect donations to provide wells to pump clean water in Africa
and provide numerous sources of research. The site provides you with resources to start a project
and raise awareness of the project or donate within your school, and/or community. Over the last
few years The Water Project has had a huge impact throughout Africa and has provided
numerous wells and water. Unfortunately, in Africa, we have learned they lose numerous school

RUNNING HEAD: THE IMPACT OF WATER IN AFRICA

days due to collecting unsafe drinking water so The Water Project really is beneficial if they are
able to collect enough money to build wells within communities. (McAllister, 2015 )
Providing access to safe drinking water begins with us; if we can raise the money they
can provide the water. According to The World Vision, they want to be able to provide access to
safe water every thirty seconds however in 2030 they want to be able to expand and reach out to
all the countries at a faster rate. (World, 2015) A major issue is they need our help globally but
people do not want to reach out and donate to a different country if they know we have problems
of our own. If we are able to provide The World Vision a small donation then we can impact the
lives of many people. Remember lacking safe water causes other problems such as hunger,
poverty, no education, and many more which will be shown later.

RUNNING HEAD: THE IMPACT OF WATER IN AFRICA

The last article was found on the United Nations website where we learned Africa does
faces underdevelopment, lack of food, a large amount of
poverty, and many more issues that are being worked on my the Millennium
Goals of the United Nations. In the figure to the right we
see where there are sanitation facilities in different sections
of Africa and how much it is being improved or not. Africa is a
developing country who really needs help and the ability to access
safe drinking water would be a blessing to their country. In 1,000 births in Africa, there are 191
child deaths. There are not enough resources, including sanitary water to keep these children
alive or healthy. Many of the children die from a cholera outbreak since they are living in a poor
state that lacks its basic hygienic living conditions. The major issue Africa is facing is financing
water management due to lack of funding, time, and primary focus. So far Africa is being
provided with some water to help them move forward however it will take more time to meet
projected goals. (United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, 2015)

RUNNING HEAD: THE IMPACT OF WATER IN AFRICA

Importance of Water

Water is one of our basic needs and people will not survive if they dont have it. To us we
think there is an abundance of water since we have it each and every day causing us to bypass
the need for it in other countries. Each day over one billion people do not have access to clean
water. (The Water Project, 2015) We should not take for granted the amount of clean water we
have because we have plenty of ways to access the water however in Africa those who need
water, walk hours to collect it from contaminated rivers and swamps. Over fourteen countries in
Africa could benefit from clean water, they use their time to collect water from dirty sources
causing most of their population to contract diseases. (WWF, 2002) Water is important to our
everyday lives, humans can only go three days without water before they lose ones life. (Binns,
2012)
Waterborne Diseases
Waterborne diseases are illnesses caused by infections with bacteria contaminating the
water supply. (MedicineNet, 2012) In Africa access to unsafe drinking water leads to many
waterborne diseases due to the polluted water. Some common diseases humans contract through
the water in Africa is Cholera, Hepatitis A, and Typhoid. (Institute Water for Africa, 2015) Eighty
percent of developing countries have illnesses based on unsafe water conditions causing an
increase in deaths of children under the age of five. Some bacteria found in water can be
harmless however some of them can have a heavy effect on the health of humans. (The Water
Project, 2015) Every ninety seconds a child dies from a waterborne disease. (Creative Commons
Attribution-Share Alike , 2015) The World Health Organization reports that over 3.6 percent of
the global disease burden can be prevented simply by improving water supply. (Catley-Carlson,
2015)
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Effects from unsafe water
Education
Most children in Africa do not have access to education since they are the ones who have
to go collect water which causes them to not have time to go to schools. Those children who are
lucky enough to be able to attend school deal with diarrhea and other diseases causing them to
have to stay at home. Every single day girls and women travel multiple miles to collect dirty
water which causes those girls to also lose a chance to gain an education. (The Water Project,
2015) Due to children collecting the water they miss out on getting a proper education and there
is not enough money to put into schools for children. (Africas Water Crisis: What the World
Doesnt Want to Know. 2015).The Global Concerns Classroom is working to get youth to raise
awareness of the issues taking place in developing countries such as Africa by creating programs
for youth to gain knowledge on the global issues. (Briteweb, 2015)
Hunger
Many people do not realize the first step in fixing the issue with hunger we need to have
clean water first. We cant make good food or grow vegetables or fruit if we do not have water
since water is a major component in each of these creations. Seventy percent of water goes
towards growing crops and irrigation and most of the humans living in rural areas (the area who
needs water the most) does not have access to safe/treated water. (The Water Project, 2015)
Poverty
Poverty is the leading cause to many other issues such as ethnic conflicts, climate change,
and political instability. This issue is huge in the Congo since 75 percent of the population does
not have access to safe drinking water and 80 percent do not have access to improved sanitation.
(Congo, 2014) Since they are lacking clean water it will be hard to break the chain of poverty in
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RUNNING HEAD: THE IMPACT OF WATER IN AFRICA

Africa. Many areas are spending too many hours collecting and transporting water will continue
to cycle of poverty. Statistics show in Africa they lose billions of hours each year collecting
water when those hours could be spend doing other work or bettering their villages. If they can
receive clean water then there will be more time for agriculture, children can get an education,
and there would be a decrease in waterborne illnesses in the area. Fixing this problem
economically and socially are the main focus in Africa and many organizations are working
together to work on finding a cure. (The Water Project, 2015)
Who gets effected by unsafe water?

Women & Children

As previously noted women and children are the main people who collect water from the
swamps and rivers. Bad sanitation has effected urban areas which is a bad thing for the children
who walk over 3.5 miles to collect the water. (Water For People, 2015) Each day they spend over
125 million hours collecting water that will create negative impacts on them. Every 21 seconds
one child dies from a disease caused by water. (Water.Org, 2015) Children are the main target
when it comes to drinking the unsafe water since they can contract negative health conditions
from it. Over ninety percent of death rates is among children since the unsafe water makes them
more vulnerable to contract diseases. (United Nations, 2010) Unfortunately children do not have
strong immune systems so they cannot fight off the bacteria like adults and older people can. The
main way the water issue is affecting humans in Africa is because the death rates are becoming
higher than the life rates due to the diseases these people are faced with such as Typhoid and
Hepatitis A. (Encyclopedia of the Nations, 2015) If we do not find a solution then the future will
have an increase of problems due to the unsafe water. Children have to be dewormed and go
through a full immunization since they are suffering from horrible diseases in the water causing
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RUNNING HEAD: THE IMPACT OF WATER IN AFRICA

multiple viruses. (W., 2015) 1 in 10 humans lack access to safe water and 1 in 3 humans lack
access to a toilet which makes it harder for them to live healthy lives. (Millions lack safe water,
1990-2015)
How much it costs
1 U.S. $ = 746.00 Rwandan Franc
As shown in the chart to the right it
does not take many of U.S. dollars
to pay for the water supply and
sanitation however it will take
some time for Rwanda to be able to purchase and afford each of these sectors. Water supply and
sanitation are two vital elements of life because without them more complications can be created.
(Financing of the water, 2012) According to Water Wells for Africa it cost $7,000 per well which
benefits 2,000 people. However, depending on how good you want the well, the type of pump,
and the condition of the village the cost could change. (Water Wells for Africa, 2015) When
building a well we have to take a huge thing into consideration, where do you get the money if it
malfunctions? The International Institute for Environment and Development states Up to $360
million has been spent on wells that have become useless because they are not fixed. When
putting money into wells you have to remember they will be built but there is still a cost for
upkeep. (Kelly, 2009)

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RUNNING HEAD: THE IMPACT OF WATER IN AFRICA

Is there a solution?
Installing the wells
Many areas in Africa do not have access to safe water which causes an increase in disease
rates, however, once the wells were installed it made improved lives. (Well Drilling, 2015) The
Water Project gets the community involved by allowing people to create their own donation site,
their website provides a wealth of information for communities to get started learning about the
issues. Once they receive money they begin drilling their wells which takes multiple steps; those
drilling the holes have to make sure they do not go too deep or they will spread unwanted
bacteria into the clean water supply. After the hole is drilled bricks and concrete go around to
hole to start the well which is followed by a hand pump to get the water to flow. (The Water
Project, 2015)
Handing over the wells
Once the wells are installed people need to be trained on how to use the water pump and
how to maintain the pump. Before the well is able to be passed onto the citizens in that village
the water has to be tested to make sure it is safe and once that is complete, the village is in charge
of the well. (Education Follow-up , 2015)
Advantages vs. Disadvantages
Everything we construct comes with both advantages and disadvantages including
building hand-dug wells. Some advantages are; cheaper materials can be used, locals can build
the wells, therefore they are very cost-effective. On the other hand, some disadvantages are the
sediment layers in a particular site. For example if the clay isnt under thick sand then the drilling
may not be possible and it can take a lot of time to construct the wells. (Hand-dug wells, 2015)
(FAO Regional Office for Africa, n.d.) Some other good methods other than building wells is
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RUNNING HEAD: THE IMPACT OF WATER IN AFRICA

building dams and rain catchment systems that will collect and provide reliable water sources.
Having these extra sources decreases diseases rates and the risk of being dehydrated. These two
methods are not as expensive as building a well and the rain catchment system is easy to
maintain. (UK, 2013)

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RUNNING HEAD: THE IMPACT OF WATER IN AFRICA

Conclusion

As you can see unsafe drinking water impacts the disease rates and the standard of living
in Africa in multiple ways. Not having access to safe drinking water is a huge factor to poverty,
education, and disease rates in the area. Most importantly children cant attend school because
they collect water that is contaminated with bacteria during school hours. Currently disease rates
are high in Africa due to the contaminated water however they can decrease if more wells and
dams are built. Most women and children are facing high mortality rates due to collecting the
water and drinking it when they reach the dirty streams and ponds. South Africa has a population
of 53,139,528 people but the horrible living conditions will decrease those numbers. (Countries
in the world, 2014) Many global organizations around the world are forming coalitions to find
solutions to bring clean water to Africa. since those humans do not deserve to die from bacteria
in their water. We can all make a change so communities can live longer and safer lives. Starting
today access to safe drinking water can decrease the disease rates and improve the standard of
living in Africa.

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RUNNING HEAD: THE IMPACT OF WATER IN AFRICA

https://www.surveymonkey.com/analyze/iHW1JJPFDwWmQi9JQZbuR7cioY8olOqs82FH9Iyrx
AQ_3D

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RUNNING HEAD: THE IMPACT OF WATER IN AFRICA

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