Soon there will be a lack of water for irrigation in many countries, especially in poor countries. The continent hardest hit by water shortages are: Central Asia, Africa and the Middle East. The need for fresh water increased about two times more than the world population. This was caused by high consumption of water for industrial and agricultural areas. Unfortunately, only 2.5% of Earth's water is fresh water.
The main causes of deterioration of rivers, lakes and oceans are pollution and contamination by pollutants and sewage. Humans have caused all this damage to nature, through the waste, sewage, industrial waste and mining without control.
Aquifers (large underground reserves of fresh water) have already been explored. In South America, we have one of the largest aquifers in the world. Much of the water of this aquifer is located in the Brazilian underground.
Studies of the World Water Commission and other international agencies show that billions of people on our planet are living without the bare minimum of health conditions. Millions of persons have no access to drinking water. Given these serious problems, several diseases such as diarrhea, hepatitis and many others are spread.
Haiti
The first cases of the disease, transmitted through contaminated water or food, were recorded at the river Arbonite, in the north. Cases of cholera have been identified in all ten regions of Haiti. About 1,100 people have died from the disease last month. In total at least 17 000 cases of the disease have been recorded. It is necessary that the public be informed that the disease is treatable. Cholera causes diarrhea and vomiting, leading to acute dehydration. The disease can kill quickly, but is easily treated with antibiotics and hydration.
Simple measures can help us avoid the water-borne diseases:
Bathe daily;
Using the toilet;
Wash hands thoroughly before and after using the toilet;
Wash hands thoroughly before eating;
Trim fingernails and keep them clean;
Only drink water that has been filtered and / or boiled;
Wash fruits and vegetables before eating them;
It is estimated that 76% of Haitians live on less than $ 3 per day and 50% have less than $ 1 a day. A bar of soap costs in normal times, $ 0.50 in most markets and Haitians, for many families, washing hands turned a potentially fatal dilemma between using the little money to buy soap or buy food.
The head of the NGO Doctors without Borders in Haiti, the Italian Stefano Zannini, in a tone of relief and frustration in an interview last Wednesday, said that the workload is stressful. It is not easy to work with the smell, the noise and pressure of so many patients. He said they are working 24 hours a day and they are overloaded. Zannini also says none of the measures to contain the epidemic is meant to doctors. They depend on washing hands; have clean water and be provided by suitable target to corpses and human feces.
No comments:
Post a Comment