Water Shortage in Somalia
Water shortage in Somalia
Introduction
Water is the most important factor
for sustaining life. It’s important for humans, animals, and even crops. Water
shortages are the main reason for many problems all over the planet. The main
cause of water shortage in most countries is droughts. Drought is an
irregularly long period of low or no rainfall and that is a reason for the
drying up of many water wells in many regions. In addition, statistics show
that half of the hospital beds worldwide are occupied by patients diagnosed
with water related diseases, and water and sanitary crises claim the lives of
more people through disease than war does. 2.6 billion people worldwide live
without basic sanitation, 88 percent of the diseases presented by these people
are caused by unsafe water (facts about water and sanitation, 2012).
Others statistics recorded worldwide are:
· 1.4 million children die every year as a result of diseases
caused by unclean water and poor sanitation.
· For children under five, water-related diseases are the leading
cause of death.
· Girls under the age of 15 are twice as likely as boys of the
same age to carry the responsibility of collecting water.
· Parasitic infection transmitted through unclean water and poor
sanitation hinders the learning potential for more than 150 million children.
The shortage of water as well as the lack of sanitation creates
a life filled with difficulties, disease, and low educational
opportunities(facts about water and sanitation, 2012).
Problem
Somalia is one of the most troubled
countries in Africa as it is run by war lords who exposed the people to a lot
of violence and bloodshed. The country of Somalia has many problems, one of
which is a severe water shortage. Water shortage is the main reason for AWD(acute
water diarrhea), a disease which claimed the lives of 12 people from villages
surrounding the capital Mogadishu (Somalia: water shortage to blame for
awd outbreak, 2009).only 29% of the Somali population has access to safe and
clean water. Most of these 29%are forced to walk about 20 km in order to get to
the water, and others have to sell their belongings in order to be able to buy
water(mannak, 2009). In 2011, the voice of America news agency published an
article titled “Somalia: drought brings water shortages, high food prices”,
which discussed the outcomes of the water shortages and the downside it had on
the population. People feared that due to the water shortage, livestock might
start to die in large numbers and that would cause villagers to move back to
the unstable capital in search for food. The U.N already pays a total of $60
million to meet the food needs of the Somali people, but if droughts keep
occurring then an estimate of more than $150 million will be needed to meet the
food needs of the population(decapua, 2011).on the other hand, the fear wasn’t
only of dying livestock but also of migrating livestock. Livestock migrated in
search of more water in order to survive, lowering the amount of dairy products
available and increasing the levels of malnutrition in many regions of the
country (press release: Somalia
faces severe water crisis as drought looms, 2011).it was not only the livestock
migrating, as droughts were also the main reason for many people abandoning the
villages that surrounded adado town, due to the drying up of the local wells
and bark ads (water pans). The only water available to remaining villagers was
75 km away, which left them with the sole option of water trucking, which is
considered difficult and expensive for villagers (Somalia: galgadud villages abandoned
as water shortage bites, 2010).
Solutions
The U.N along with other humanitarian
organizations is already working on finding solutions to the Somalia water
crisis. In solving such crises internationally in Somalia, foundations
shouldn’t only focus on the shortage of water but also on the proper uses of
sanitation of already available water sources. Well-funded organizations would
be able to provide state- of- the- art equipment, that would secure, purify and
distribute water for domestic and agricultural uses (our background, 2003). Drilling new
water wells in areas that have no water or only have access to contaminated
water, is required in order to provide new water supplies. In the case of
polluted water, the solution would be digging below the surface of the
pollution spill in order to reach uncontaminated water supplies and then
insuring that recontamination does not occur. On the other hand, reverse
osmosis can also be used to purify already polluted water. New disinfection
technologies and new distribution techniques can be used on water supplies only
contaminated with microorganisms(our background, 2003). However these major
organizations that call themselves “humanitarian” will have to spend millions
of dollars in creating such solutions. Keeping in mind that they are aware that
it’s a charity based action and they will not gain anything from it as a
profit. This would then take us back to square one because obviously most if
not all of these “humanitarian” organizations might decline such widespread
activities.
Conclusion
Droughts are the main reason for water
shortage in Somalia, which is one of the main causes of human suffering. Water
shortage causes many more problems than the unavailability of drinking water,
such as the increase in food prices, the possibility of livestock death and the
increase in malnutrition levels. Water is an essential substance for humans,
animal and plants for survival, therefore, a lot of effort should be
concentrated into finding and developing new water supplies for countries and
regions suffering from such a crisis. Most if not all of Somalia's clean water
supplies are running very low and its causing many villagers to leave their
homes and farms to look for new water supplies and clean wells. They end up
going back to their homes because they couldn’t find anywhere else or the place
they found was too expensive for them to afford. (mannak, 2009)these demographic changes
are affecting the traditional farming practices and causing soil erosion which
leads to a lowering of gross domestic product.
posted by Mohamed Abdulrab @ 2:32 PM
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