Malnutrition is still a challenge!
Jan 13, 2022, 12:05 PM
Freedom from hunger and malnutrition is a basic human right. And good nutrition is a basic building block of human capital and as a result contributes to economic growth.
In fact, it is the sixth goal of the United Nations General Assembly to adopt 17 sustainable development goals, which are designed to transform our world by 2030. Thus, ensuring the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all is crucial.
Around the globe, the demand for water is increasing. Climate change is already affecting water access for people around the world, causing more severe droughts and floods. Increasing global temperatures are one of the main contributors to this problem.
This has in fact contributed to the drying up of local wells, which used to be the only alternative in accessing water in the local communities.
Experts predicted that this shift will lead to more floods since more water will fall than vegetation and soil can absorb. The remaining water, or runoff, drains into nearby waterways, picking up contaminants like fertilizer on the way.
Therefore, any endeavour designed to avail people access to water is a welcome development.
It is in the news that the people of Jagula village in the Upper River Region, are in celebratory mood following the handing over of a drilled Solar Powered Water Pumping and Reticulations project. The project is courtesy of The Gambia Red Cross Society (GRCS) in collaboration with Action Against Hunger (AAH).
Let us not forget that water is present in every aspect of our lives.
We commend the sponsors and the implementing partners for their generosity. Our health these days is also linked with the quality of water we consume. Polluted water is a threat to human survival.
Government should prioritise drilling more boreholes in communities around the country to ease acute water shortage.
It has now become a daily issue in The Gambia, where locals who sought assistance especially in the area of water, use the media to launch wider appeals for assistance in various newspapers.
No community in the country should suffer to that extent just to get a basic necessity. And this should be the focus of any development-oriented government. Imagine, some have to trek kilometers just to draw water for their daily survival.
We should always bear in mind that lack of access to clean water can allow diseases to run rampant, sometimes creating epidemics of water-borne infectious agents.
“ Water is life, and clean water means health.”
Audrey Hepburn
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