The public health topic that I chose this week is having access to healthy water. The reason that I chose this topic is because I believe in the importance of having access to healthy drinking water. Without the access to healthy drinking water, you can be exposed to many different diseases that can cause serious illness and even death. Being able to have access to clean water is vital, I think, in the development of a child, and even an adult. I think that some people in America take having clean drinking water for granted. They expect to be able to turn on the faucet and clean water comes out, or to be able to go to the store and buy bottled water, or to be able to use a toilet, or have a nice shower. Not everyone has those luxuries, even some people in America don't have those luxuries.
While reading an article by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), I learned that "1.7 Billion people in Asia and the Pacific have no access to modern sanitation." This was an astounding number to me when I first read it, and then learned that 780 million people still practice open defecation, which pollutes the water supply and is the "second leading cause of infant and child deaths worldwide," according to ADB. Many people who live in urban areas have to travel long distances to get water from an already contaminated drinking source, or to the stores to buy bottled water. Unclean drinking water allows different sources of germs to contaminate the people living in the areas with this water, such as the breeding of diseased mosquito, or getting a disease like Salmonella, which is transferred through feces. This hinders the health and well-being of the people in the area and their children.
While reading this article I learned some of the things that people are going through in another country, just from trying to have access to clean drinking water, something that I take for granted daily. I plan on trying to raise awareness with people in my area, and see how many people really know and understand about this issue. I think unless you experience it first hand or read about it, this is not an issue that most people think of others having. I was glad that I was able to experience this lesson, and truly learn something about people in another area.
Resources:
Asian Development Bank. (2014, January 7,) Water, Sanitation and hygiene for a Healthy Asia and the Pacific. Retrieved from:
https://www.adb.org/features/water-sanitation-and-hygiene-healthy-asia-and-pacific
Hello Felisha,
ReplyDeleteYour post was interesting and informational about the importance of clean water in other countries, I believe if we take a stand in our community in regards to clean water disturbed in other countries we could indeed make a difference, and it wouldn't just benefit our consciousness but adults and children alike.