East African Water: Part 1-Not a drop safe to drink.

The problems of food security in the African continent cannot be solved without addressing the water supply or lack of it. This paper will try to start a debate on the fact that millions of people in the world are without proper drinking water and have diseases as a result of such unfit water. There is also the issue of profits from the commercialization of water, such as bottled water, and how such profits are not contributing towards universal accessibility of clean water. The cost of a litre of bottled water is 200 to 1000 times more expensive than water of equivalent quality and quantity from the domestic tap. The profit from water sales is used in heavy advertising to convince consumers that bottled water is pure, rather than in the alleviation of the world's water shortages and associated problems. Purifying and distributing domestic water is more cost effective, cheaper and more beneficial to a community as a whole.

Factors impelling urgent action for universal clean water:

• It is a fact that as high as a quarter of the world's population is without safe drinking water and that it costs relatively very little to supply each person with safe water for life.

• In many parts of the world, bottled water appears to be the accepted way supply drinking water. "In this country water is relatively more expensive than some essentials like petrol, wine, diesel, milk, charcoal or beer!" remarked Matthew, a Tanzanian businessman.

• Many of the poor cannot afford such expense; hence the repeated cycles of diseases like cholera, typhoid and amoebiasis including worm infestations.

  In Tanzania water-induced illnesses amount to 50% of diseases that affect populations where water quality is poor.

• An individual (in East Africa) may require up to 300 L but the amount that may be available is below 66 L* (in USA the average is 100 L) of water per day for domestic, hygiene and consumption, in contrast to the small daily need of diesel, petrol or beer that appear to be used or consumed in much less quantities. (*The heat of the tropics demands higher water consumption but the inadequacy is made up by water from fruits and foods.)

• Although a person can survive without food for 30 days, without water survival is only possible between 5-7 days. The importance of water is therefore not to be underestimated.
  The copyright of the article East African Water: Part 1-Not a drop safe to drink. in Canning & Preserving is owned by Paul Vincent Mroso. Permission to republish East African Water: Part 1-Not a drop safe to drink. in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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