Global Health and Water Safety
5.06.2017
Safety is defined as the state of being free from or immune to danger or injury. Therefore, water safety simply means the condition of being safe and protected from dangers and injuries that may result from using water.
The concept of water safety is very important given that approximately 71% of the Earth’s surface is covered by water. More so, water is all around us; in rivers and lakes, in icecaps, aquifers and glaciers, in the ground as soil moisture and in air as water vapor. In fact, the earth is a ‘watery’ place. In addition to its ubiquitous nature in the universe, man’s need for water cannot be paralleled; an estimated 408 billion gallons of water are used in the United States per. Water is so important because we constantly need and use it on a daily basis and for many reasons including drinking, cooking, bathing, washing, swimming and for other activities. For this reason, it’s really necessary to ensure that the water we use is clean and safe. That way, we are protected.
Many times, water is contaminated by different chemicals or micro-organisms through some natural means, man-made activities and poor hygiene. These contaminants must be removed through some treatment or purification process to make water clean and safe. Additionally, diseases that result from contaminated water and their associated health impacts are numerous and threatening. Every year, up to 3.6 million people die from a disease related to using unsafe, unclean and unhealthy water. Approximately 80% of diseases in many third-world countries are associated with water, causing millions of deaths; for example, diarrhoea alone kills 5,000 children daily- about one child every 17 seconds. Classes of diseases associated with water are usually preventable including water-borne, water-washed and water-related diseases. Hence, if water is clean safe and healthy, all associated diseases will be eliminated from the world and many deaths will be prevented.
A study on the “Molecular assessment of bacterial pathogens- a contribution to drinking water safety” showed that current developments in molecular detection technologies for bacterial pathogens in drinking water can potentially improve the safety of drinking water supplies by specifically detecting and identifying pathogens. Furthermore, many purification, treatment and molecular approaches have improved the understanding of infection routes for water-borne diseases, effects of changes in drinking water treatment, and management of freshwater resources. These and many more advancements are on track to ensure water safety is prioritized and realized.