Clean Water is the solution for Hygiene and Sanitation Problem

Water is life, and access to clean water for hygiene and sanitation is a human right. However, today the world population is growing by leaps and bounds. The demand for water is more than what is needed at the moment. In 2017, approximately 3 billion people in the world did not have clean water to wash their hands at home. Such is the scarcity of water in the world that the UN General Assembly started a 'Water Action Decade' program from 2018-2028 to move people towards better water management. Access to clean water and sanitation is also one of the 17 sustainable development goals set out for partner countries of the United Nations. 

Why Clean Water?

When there is no clean water, there can be no hygiene and sanitation. This, in turn, means that deaths and diseases can occur where they could have been prevented.  

Some of the significant areas where lack of clean drinking water poses problems are: 

1.  Poor sanitation means that children are always at risk of childhood diseases and malnutrition that can affect their development in life. Children suffer from diseases such as diarrhoea and malaria, which in turn prove to be fatal at times. 
2. Girl children get no access to schools and education because there are no clean water or sanitation facilities. The stigma associated with periods means that when girls don't have access to clean water and functioning toilets and latrines, they drop out of school. 
3. Lack of clean water also means that women are forced to travel long distances to bring clean drinking water to their homes. 
4. Due to unsanitary conditions, there is no proper waste disposal or cleanliness program in place, which means that diseases can spread rapidly. 
5. Farmers and daily wage earners are especially vulnerable to diseases which mean reduced productivity for them. 
6. At a broader level, clean drinking water means that people can rise out of poverty, national economies would improve, life expectancy would grow, and more educated women and girl children. 

The Climate and Water change 

With growing population pressures, clean water is becoming more and more scarce. This, in turn, means that people's health and productivity are affected. 

Rivers, o lakes and ponds need to be reservoirs of clean water. They are acting as a lifeline for people and nature as well. However, man's greed is rapidly reducing these places to shadows of their former selves.

Freshwater ecosystems are essential to the programme of growing and conserving life on earth. However, they comprise only 1% of the planet but have more than 10% of all living species. 

India and clean drinking water

The UNICEF estimates that the lack of safe and clean drinking water puts an additional burden of USD 600 million on the Indian economy every year. Water depletion, excess fluoride in water and an underwhelming less than 50 per cent population's access to safe drinking water means that India has its task cut out. 

However, all is not doom and gloom. Like other partner countries of the UN, India has been working towards improving access to water and meeting the goals of participant countries in the United Nations. 

Of late, Odisha has become the first state in the country to provide 100 per cent clean drinking water in the city of Puri under the scheme of "Swajal". The Swajal scheme envisages a goal of water safety by cultivating behaviour change and participation by the community in 117 districts from 28 states. 

The Jal Jeevan Mission envisages the provision of clean and safe drinking water on individual taps in households by 2024. If this becomes a reality, women and girls will no longer have to make arduous, back-breaking trips to bring clean drinking water. This will also encourage the girl student to attend school and not miss out on education. 

Reuse is also part of this mission where grey water management, rainwater harvesting and water conservation are topmost in priority for the mission. 

Conclusion 

 The challenges facing the availability of clean water for hygiene and sanitation are monumental but certainly not unachievable. Gaps in institutional capacity, training and human resources need to be addressed. At the same time, due diligence is required on the part of all key stakeholders to bring about a mindset of community participation with the balanced use of technology and a bottom-up approach to communication.