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(MARCH THEMATIC REPORT) WATER POLLUTION, ENDANGER SPECIES |
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by Mohamed Sannoh | 15-04-2022 11:27
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Sierra Leone is a familiar and news-worthy country. It is most often noted for its large and controversial industry of diamond mining. A brutal civil war that lasted a decade has left many images of amputees and refugees, impoverished and displaced. The average life expectancy for a Sierra Leonean is only 56 years. One of the lowest in the world, much of this statistic can be blamed on poor living conditions. Almost half of the population is not using a protected water source for drinking. Most of the unsafe drinking sources are freestanding water, such as ponds, and unprotected wells. Infections and parasites , most found in contaminated water, lead to the largest cause of death in Sierra Leone. Poor sanitation generates high risk of hepatitis A and Typhoid fever. Stillwater breeds malaria-carrying mosquitoes that plague the region with one of the most common deadly infections contracted in the area. Overall, health and standard of living are poor. Sierra Leone's environment is disturbing production of agriculture and management of water. It has a rainy season about six months of each year. The rain is too torrential to be collected or used properly. Floods fill wells with waste and spread contaminated water to other drinking sources. For the amount of rain that soaks their land during the summers, Sierra Leoneans are confronted by equally difficult droughts during a winter dry season. Sierra Leoneans collect most of their drinking water from polluted sources. Pollutants and poor sanitation are attributed to some of the health problems in the country. Water pollution in Sierra Leone is the contamination of water bodies such as boreholes, streams, and rivers. It transcends many fields of human activity. Rivers that serve rural communities as sources of drinking water encounter challenges of pollution as a result of agricultural, industrial and domestic activities. The country is inadequately supplied with pipe-borne water. Springs and dugout wells, which are common sources of drinking water, are not well protected. Hence, seepage from surrounding pollutants and toilets are common. Water pollution (particularly drinking water) is a serious problem in the country. Almost half of the population of Sierra Leone has no access to safe drinking water and only 13% of the population has access to improved non-shared sanitation facilities. Some 74% of urban dwellers have access to safe drinking water while only 46% of rural people use safe water. In the Northern Region, only 30% of residents have access to safe drinking water. According to the Sierra Leone Water Company, on average only 35% of rural residents have access to safe drinking water. In 2012, Sierra Leone experienced the worst cholera outbreak in its history, having over 20,000 cases with 392 deaths. The main cause of the outbreak was as a result of the heavy rainfall and flooding combined with poor hygiene practices, unsafe water sources, and ineffective waste management in the country. There are several causes of water pollution in Sierra Leone but, the most common is the sewage efflux and surface run-offs into boreholes, streams and rivers. In most parts of the country, boreholes and rivers are the means by which most of the water is supplied for drinking and domestic, agricultural, and industrial use. Since rivers flow through the country from the north-east to south-west, polluting the rivers upstream can affect the people and greatly endanger marine life and the environment downstream. Supporting WASH interventions in Sierra Leone is therefore critical in improving child health, welfare and developed within WASH in education (SDG4), health care facilities (SDG 3), Menstrual hygiene management and other women and girls interventions (SDG 5), WASH programming to reduce malnutrition – child stunting (SDG 2) to end child poverty (SDG 1); child protection and women from violence and dignity (SDG 16) among others SDGs.
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3 Comments
I hate seeing animals not living their best lives because of all the damaging human activities. This article really opened up my eyes! Thank you!
Posted 02-08-2022 01:17
Hello Mohamed, this is your mentor Chelwoon.
It is unfortunate to see that the animals in the photo digging up the waste and eating them to alleviate their hunger in that polluted area. They could even not have known that the leftover there would be extremely dangerous to their health. Many countries are facing the severe problem of a lack of access to drinkable water. The authorities in your country should take immdeiate possible steps to address this problem, as water is the most important resource when it comes to living. No one who can live without water.
I hope the people in your country live in future without any kind of pollution.
Thank you for the article!
Regards,
Chelwoon
Posted 18-04-2022 07:08
Hello Mohamed, this is your mentor Joon.
It really seems a serious problem. Adequate access to clean water should be a number one priority which has to be included in social security that government provides. If human consumes polluted water, it may cause negative influences including different waterborne diseases. It is crucial to find the reason why the pollution was made and adequately manage the pollutant so that more people could have access to clean water. Thanks for sharing local stories.
Well read your article, and let's keep up!
Best,
Joon
Posted 17-04-2022 00:28