Africa has now 19 cities with populations of more than one
million inhabitants. Because of slow economic growth, lack of effective
development policies and limited resources, the development of infrastructure
has not kept up with the increasing needs for shelter and services in growing
urban populations.
Poor hygiene, inadequate management of waste and lack of
sanitation facilities are contributing factors in the death of millions of
people in the developing world due to diseases that are easily preventable. For
example, lack of sanitation and inadequate disposal or storage of waste near
houses can provide habitats for vectors responsible for several infectious
diseases such as amebiasis, typhoid fever and diarrhea. Uncontrolled and
inadequate landfills are a danger to the environment and a health risk to the
population since they may lead to contamination of water and soil. The health
risks associated with poor sanitation tend to be higher in densely populated low-income
urban areas. At a global level, more than 5 million people die each year from
diseases related to inadequate waste disposal systems. Contamination of water
leads to a whole range of diarrheal diseases such as cholera that kills 1.8
million people worldwide. An estimated 90 percent among them are children below
five, mainly from developing countries. Most of the burden can be attributed to
unsafe drinking water, inadequate sanitation and poor hygiene practices. According
to UNICEF, Infant Mortality Rates (IMRs) are almost always higher in poor urban
areas than the national average and than those in rural areas. A great proportion
of the high mortality among the children of the urban poor can be attributed to
diseases common in urban areas such as diarrhea, tuberculosis and parasitic
diseases (intestinal worms) that are frequently associated with lack of safe
water and sanitation.
Africa has the lowest water supply and sanitation coverage
of any other region in the world. It is estimated that one in three Africans
has no access to improved water or to sanitation facilities and the number of
people lacking those basic services is increasing. The majority of those
lacking basic services live in informal or suburban areas and rural
communities. Unless actions are taken now, the absolute number of people
lacking basic services will increase from 200 million in 2000 to 400 million in
2020.
Many Sub-Saharan countries will find it difficult to reach
the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) set for 2015, particularly the MDG 7
which stipulates to halve, by 2015, the proportion of people without
sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation.
No comments:
Post a Comment