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13: Water-Related Diseases
Introduction
Currently, one-sixth of the world’s population (1.1 billion people) lacks access to safe water supply, and two-fifths (2.4 billion people) lack access to improved sanitation facilities. The vast majority of people who are seriously affected by or die from preventable water and sanitation related diseases are rural dwellers and the urban poor in the developing world. Current international estimates of deaths due to water-related diseases range from 2.2 million to 5 million annually.
Classification of Water-Related Diseases
Water-related diseases can be grouped into four general classes: water-borne, water-washed, water-based and water-related insect vectors (Table 1). The first three classes are closely linked to people’s lack of access to safe water supply.
Morbidity and Mortality of Selected Water-Related Diseases
Each year, there are approximately 2.2 million deaths caused by diarrheal diseases related to poor water and sanitation conditions. Most victims are children under the age of five. This is equivalent to one child dying every 15 seconds. Table 2 summarizes the estimated morbidity and mortality of selected water-related diseases at the global level.
Description of Selected Water-Related Diseases
Table 3 provides a brief description of selected water-related diseases.
Other Consequences of Water-Related Diseases
In addition to the immediate and often devastating health effects of water-related diseases, affected individuals, and in many cases family caregivers, cannot work or attend school. Meager savings are quickly exhausted to cover a wide range of formal and informal health care costs. With few resources at their disposal, the poor are particularly vulnerable to illnesses that in turn impede their productivity and make escaping poverty even more difficult.
Sources used:
World Health Organization, Global Water Supply & Sanitation Assessment 2000
Report, 2000.
Peter H. Gleick, Dirty Water: Estimated Deaths from Water-Related Diseases 2000-2020
Pacific Institute, 2002.
David Werner, Where There is No Doctor: A Village Health Care Handbook, 2001.
Useful websites:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: www.cdc.gov
World Health Organization: www.who.int
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