What If Clean Water Was a Privilege, Not a Right?
Blossom Amena Blossom is a Contributing Researcher and Writer at Susinsight. Her work covers the current state of education, health, and water in Africa. She holds a BSc in Medical Biochemistry and also operates as a Communications Professional from Nigeria.

What If Clean Water Was a Privilege, Not a Right?

5 min read

Photo illustration by Tomi Abe for SUSINSIGHT
Photo illustration by Tomi Abe for SUSINSIGHT

The Price of Thirst

Clean water access remains out of reach for 2.2 billion people globally, with children representing a significant portion of those affected. Each year, unsafe water claims 3.575 million lives through various diseases, highlighting an urgent public health crisis. A small community in Kenya's Kajiado West, Nkaimurunya, exemplifies this challenge through its residents' daily struggles to secure safe drinking water.

Before recent improvements, villagers faced exhausting journeys searching for water, often returning with contaminated supplies that led to widespread waterborne illnesses. The introduction of sand dams, an innovative rainwater collection and preservation system, transformed their access to clean water. This practical solution is an example of other areas facing similar water security issues.

Rural water systems across Kenya, including the successful implementation in Nkaimurunya, demonstrate effective approaches for comparable regions. Strategic investment in clean water infrastructure throughout Africa shows promise in multiple areas: strengthening defense against health emergencies, advancing education results, stimulating financial progress, decreasing poverty rates, and supporting long-term community advancement.

Contaminated drinking water, tainted with human or animal. . .

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Blossom Amena Blossom is a Contributing Researcher and Writer at Susinsight. Her work covers the current state of education, health, and water in Africa. She holds a BSc in Medical Biochemistry and also operates as a Communications Professional from Nigeria.