Safer water, better health
Because of a lack of drinking-water in homes, some women have to carry water over long distances, India.
Overview
Ensuring the access of all people to sufficient, safe water and adequate sanitation and encouraging personal, domestic and community hygiene will improve the health and quality of life of millions of individuals. Adequate WASH is essential not only to reduce the large burden of disease from, for example diarrhoea, respiratory infections and malnutrition, but also for the control and elimination of many neglected tropical diseases, which affect over 1 billion people in 149 tropical and subtropical countries (3, 4). Furthermore, cholera is still endemic in at least 47 countries, with an estimated 2.9 million cases and 95 000 deaths per year worldwide (4–6).
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) can have devastating consequences on health and the cost of treatment (7). In communities, access to adequate WASH contributes to reducing the risk of infectious diseases and overuse of antibiotics. Health care facilities and pharmaceutical industries that do not adequately manage their waste also contribute to AMR, and lack of adequate WASH services in health care facilities increases the risks of patients, caretakers and health care workers for infection (8).
Better management of water resources to reduce the transmission of vector-borne diseases, such as viral diseases carried by mosquitoes, and to make water bodies safe for recreational and other users can save many lives and also has direct and indirect economic benefits, from the level of households to national economies. The global importance of adequate WASH for development, poverty reduction and health is reflected in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (9). SDG 6, “Ensure access to water and sanitation for all” is entirely devoted to improved WASH, and links to many other SDGs can be identified (Box 1).
