Nigeria Content Online

At
least 40 per cent of people in Sub-Saharan Africa do not have access to
safe drinking water, and 1.8 million children less than five years old
die every year from water-related disease around the world, which is
one child every 20 seconds, United Nations Environment Programmes
Report reveals on Monday.

The report also
shows that more people now die from contaminated and polluted water
than from all forms of violence including wars, as over half the
world’s hospitals beds are now occupied with people suffering from
illnesses linked with contaminated water.

The report was released to mark the World Water Day, on 22 March, with the theme, ‘Sick water.’

Almost 900 million
people currently lack access to safe drinking water, and an estimated
2.6 billion people lack access to basic sanitation. It however, reveals
that industrial pollution and other forms of pollution contribute to
the contamination of useable water.

South Asia and
sub-Saharan Africa, which have the highest proportion in the crisis,
lead with around 221 million and 330 million (respectively) living
without basic sanitation and access to good safe drinking water.

Despite the
increasing aids to the 830 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa,
wherein only six African countries do not belong geographically:
Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia, Western Sahara (claimed by
Morocco), the reports reveal that the economic losses due to the lack
of water and sanitation in Africa alone is estimated at $US28.4 billion
or about five per cent of GDP.

No recycling in Nigeria

Lyn Olisa, a
Nigerian environmentalist, however said that despite the improved
funding and the effect of the climate change, recent developments have
revealed that people’s attitude to the environment and water use is not
proper and should be changed.

“The current
climate is not helping issues and Africa being what it is, especially
Nigeria, we have not got a way to recycle our water,” Mrs. Olisa said.

“Water recycling is
very important not only in developing countries, but also the developed
countries. Because people here in Africa, especially in Nigeria, don’t
pay through their nose to get water, we just use our water anyhow.

“Even if we have more funding, without the right attitude, it will not really work.

Even the little one
we have is still wasted. You can imagine people defecating into the
river. It is bad, we just have to develop the right attitude,” she said.

Christian
Nellemann, a lead author of the report, said that “Some estimates
suggest that around two million tons of waste are spilled into sewage
systems every day: this may be producing well over two billion tons of
polluted water every single day, 365 days a year, right into our
freshwaters and oceans. Dirty water is also a key factor that the
report says is in the rise of de-oxygenated dead zones that have been
emerging in seas and oceans across the globe.

“It is a challenge
that will continue to intensify as the world undergoes rapid
urbanisation, industrialisation and increasing demand for meat and
other foods, unless decisive action is taken.

“Urban populations
are projected to nearly double in 40 years, from current 3.4 billion to
over six billion people – but already most cities lack adequate
wastewater management due to aging, absent or inadequate sewage
infrastructure,” it stated.

Get smarter

Achim Steiner, UN
Under-Secretary General and Executive Director of the UN Environment
Programme (UNEP), said: “If the world is to thrive, let alone to
survive on a planet of six billion people heading to over nine billion
by 2050, we need to get collectively smarter and more intelligent about
how we manage waste, including wastewaters.”

“The facts and
figures are stark – pollution from wastewater is quite literally
killing people, indeed at least 1.8 million children die annually as a
result of contaminated water. The impacts on the wider environment and
in particular the marine environment are also sobering,” he added.

“But the report
also points to the abundant Green Economy opportunities for turning a
mounting challenge into an opportunity with multiple benefits. These
include the savings from reduced fertilizer costs for farmers, and
incentives for conserving ecological infrastructure such as wetlands
alongside new business and employment opportunities in engineering and
natural resource management,” Mr. Steiner explained.

Also, the Executive
Director of UN-Habitat, Anna Tibajuka said, “Many water and sanitation
utilities, especially in developing countries, are forced to spend more
financial resources in water treatment due to increased pollution.

“Excess nutrients
and wastewater can also lead to uncontrolled growth of algae and
aquatic plants such as water hyacinth, which cause practical problems
for marine transportation, fishing, intakes for water, hydro power, and
irrigation schemes,” she added.