Unclean water kills 4,000 daily worldwide

Tania Tan, Straits Times 23 Jun 08;

POLLUTED drinking water will kill around 1.6 million people this year unless governments around the world make a concerted effort to clean up their supplies, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned.

Over 4,000 people die each day from water-borne diseases and the death toll is not restricted to Third World nations, a top-ranking WHO official said yesterday.

'It's a problem plaguing all countries - developed and developing,' said Dr James Bertram, coordinator of the WHO's Water, Sanitation and Health Programme.

He spoke to reporters ahead of the Singapore International Water Week, which kicks off officially tomorrow. The event will bring together experts from around the world to discuss management policies, the impact of global warming, and the need to diversify water sources.

Dr Bertram said that governments must anticipate long-term water shortages caused by rising demand and climate change. The Asian Development Bank estimates that already 700 million people in the region lack access to safe drinking water.

Leaders have to put their money where their mouths are and make good on a myriad of promises to provide affordable, clean drinking water, he said.

On top of looking to new technologies - like desalination and special filtration systems - governments also need to invest heavily in building and maintaining water infrastructure, he said.

There has been some progress in that area during the last few years, he noted. For the first time, last year, over 50 per cent of the world's six billion people got their water through a pipe.

But most of this water is 'unreliable and unsafe', a problem that Singapore has avoided through good management and cutting-edge technology.

The WHO hopes to use Singapore as a model for other water-scarce countries. Through a seven-year agreement, inked last year, this country will provide advice and volunteer help to water-strapped countries.

Professor Ong Choon Nam from the National University of Singapore said that the Republic was fortunate to have its own water supplies, given its challenging geography. Now, Singapore has a duty to help solve the world's water problems. 'It's our chance to step up,' he said.

WHO to develop global strategy in prevention of water-borne diseases
Channel NewsAsia 22 Jun 08;

SINGAPORE: The World Health Organisation (WHO) is developing a global strategy towards preventing water-borne diseases and Singapore has a part to play, as it's been invited to sit on the panel which oversees guidelines on safe drinking water.

As water may be abundant in some countries, it may not be reliable or safe to drink. So the WHO is adding more guidelines to its current framework, which governs international standards of drinking water.

The strategy will form part of the fourth edition of the WHO's guidelines on safe drinking water which were first introduced 50 years ago. The guidelines are updated every five to 10 years.

Its strategies include pushing for technology in areas where there's no clean water.

This is because contaminated water may cause the outbreak of water-borne diseases which may lead to deaths.

For example, a resistant strain of e-coli bacteria which surfaced in the water supply of a Canadian small town in the nineties, caused thousands to develop bloody diarrhoea and seven people died.

Dr Jamie Bertram, Co-ordinator, Drinking Water Quality Committee, World Health Organisation, said: "In total about 10 per cent of all diseases would better be prevented by better managing water resources, water supply and sanitation. Part of that could be prevented by managing water quality.

“When we look at individual countries and individual communities, very often , good water quality interventions reduce diseases for example diarrhoeal diseases by 20 per cent. This is really a significant impact on global public health."

The panel is also looking into working with agencies in various countries to support treatment of drinking water at home which it said can contribute to short term disease prevention.

About 1.6 billion people worldwide die every year from diseases related to contaminated drinking water, improper sanitation and hygiene.

The WHO said although it cannot pinpoint the exact number of death related to unsafe drinking water quality, it's sure this accounts for a significant proportion of deaths in many countries.

WHO said that it has managed to supply more than half the world's population with piped water but not all of it is safe.

And this is where Singapore's expertise in water technology will help.

Through an agreement which expires in 2015 with the WHO, Singapore will contribute its expertise in developing safe drinking water around the world.

Professor Ong Choon Nam, member, Drinking Water Quality Committee, World Health Organisation, said: "What we are supposed to do is to offer expertise for international communities so there are quite a number of colleagues who can offer their services to WHO. Besides sitting on the expert panel for drinking water, we are offering some of the training programmes. Some of the major areas that we are looking into is global warming and whether that will have an impact on water scarcity.”

Some countries that have been trained by Singapore include countries in the Asia Pacific region and Middle East.

WHO said that providing safe drinking water to communities around the world will remain one of its major challenges in the coming years. But it's optimistic that with technology, more people, especially those in small cities and rural areas will have access to clean water for their daily use.

The WHO panel on safe drinking water standards is in Singapore to discuss the latest guidelines in conjunction with the Singapore International Water Week.

The event is expected to generate millions of dollars worth of deals and investments for Singapore.

Michael Toh Kim Hock, GM, Singapore International Water Week, said: "We see an opportunity to serve the larger market around us and the idea is to get these companies to come to Singapore, internationalise them and operate out of Singapore. The SIWW is really a platform to bring ministers and officials and create a mind share - a platform for buyers and sellers to meet and really to showcase what Singapore can offer as a global hydro hub."

But it won't be all work for participants. There will also be water-related fringe events for everyone to enjoy. - CNA/vm