Clean Water Essay

Submitted By Boneal85
Words: 641
Pages: 3

Article: Diseases spreading in Syria as WASH systems collapse http://gantdaily.com/2013/02/21/diseases-spreading-in-syria-as-wash-systems-collapse/ The nearly two-year civil war in Syria has left a country divided and hundreds of thousands dead. With people having to flee from their homes to refuge sites on the Turkish border in fear of imprisonment or death. One of the main reasons for the rising death toll in the country besides the violence is the countries water becoming contaminated and undrinkable. Along the Turkish border at the camps the people have seen a large increase in infections in recent weeks. These people are living a hell on earth and can’t even get a clean glass of water to drink.
Waterborne diseases are growing in most parts of Syria with the most common being Typhoid and hepatitis A, the first carries a salmonella bacteria and the second causes liver disease. Elizabeth Hoff, a representative of the World Heath Organization (WHO) says; “ Infections are spreading due to a confluence of trends”. She goes on to explain that the pumps cannot function because electricity and fuel is scarce this resulting in a breakdown of sewage and waste systems, without this there is very little drinking water. “WHO has registered 800 cases of hepatitis across Syria and 2,500 cases of typhoid in mostly rebel-held, northeastern Deir-er-Zor Governorate alone”. In that area alone clean water dropped 90 percent, the fighting has destroyed most of the infrastructure and there is no one to fix it so the water goes untreated and unclean.
The other problem with the water being unclean and people continuing to drink it is when they fall ill there is little to zero medical personal left in the country. Half of the hospitals have been damaged and medical attention is at an all time high. “Many doctors have left the embattled cities, and medication is often not available”. In a city of 10,000 Hasan Hamidi is one of two doctors left in the city, there is no hospital left and he is running a small practice in a private house, “I have no medication for hepatitis A, so I can only tell my patients to rest in bed and stick to a low-fat diet.” The worst part about it is most of the infected are children. “There are hospitals in Hama city, but people are scared of being arrested there. So they stay here, and some die from their diseases because they