Bad water

The availability of a clean source of drinking water is fundamental to the overall health of any human population. It is taken for granted in the developed world where potable water comes out of taps everywhere — not so in Pakistan where drinking water is something of a lottery as revealed in a damning report to the Senate this week. The Minister for Science and Technology informed the senators that 80 per cent of the population consumes contaminated water. The Council for Research in Water Resources has conducted a nationwide survey across 2,807 villages in 24 districts and the results are startling. The range of contaminants was wide — bacteria, toxic metals but principally arsenic, which is a vector for a range of cancers, dissolved solids, nitrates and fluorides. At least some of these derive from fertilisers and other agricultural products.

Microbiological testing kits have been developed and 24 water-testing laboratories set up across the country as well as the development of arsenic detection kits and the production of chlorination and disinfection tablets. All this is laudable, but with the underlying problem being bacterial infection, the pointer is to a chronic lack of domestic sanitation in rural areas where overwhelming number of households are without adequate toilets that leads to outdoor defecation. There are parts of the country where bacterial contamination is as high as 69 per cent. Small wonder that the overall health of the population is so poor — a majority of people are drinking water that whilst essential to life, is contributing to their infirmity and in many cases their early demise. The scandal lies in the fact that the laboratories referenced above are at risk because of a lack of funding. Staff have not been paid for months and contractual commitments are unfulfilled, with highly qualified staff leaving in disillusionment. Universal provision of potable water is a development essential, poisoning the populace via careless neglect is not. Fix the water problem. Now.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 10^th, 2016.

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