In November of 2020, as cities like Hyderabad witnessed a downturn in COVID patients; there seemed to be a dramatic increase of outpatients due to another pressing reason. Fever Hospital of Hyderabad reported a concerning rise in the number of patients who succumbed to seasonal diseases after massive flooding in the city. Water-borne diseases like diarrhoea, malaria, typhoid seemed to outnumber the COVID patients. Cases of cholera, typhoid and viral hepatitis in India are not seen as novel, but rather quite the norm. Indian government data shows that the country registered 69.14 million cases — or as many people as in United Kingdom — of four water-borne diseases over five years to 2017. Diarrhoea remained the leading killer by causing approximately 60% of all deaths, while India lost 73 million working days due to such diseases.
India’s most populous state of Uttar Pradesh recorded the 22% of the deaths nationwide — the highest record by a state thus far. While the COVID-19 pandemic confronted the world with burning challenges, one cannot overlook the host of diseases that accompany heavy showers and contaminated water. We witness an annual spurt of monsoon maladies and most of these diseases are transmitted through unclean drinking water — a phenomenon all too common for most Indians.
Climate change can shift geographical conditions resulting in a warmer climate that will cause water-borne diseases to become far more frequent in developing countries near the Equator. Furthermore, climate change will exacerbate the lack of available fresh water compounded with rapid urbanization, industrialization and population growth.
India burdens an economic loss worth hundreds of millions as crores of adults and children succumb to deadly water-borne diseases. Although 86% of the population has access to safe drinking water according to the Census, these figures seem to be exaggerated if we consider the fact that Census assumes water from hand pumps and tube wells to be safe, when there is evidence to prove that they are prime carriers of waterborne diseases. Also, of the 44 percent people who have access to piped water, only 32% is actually treated. Data accessed from the Central Pollution Control Board shows that 50% of the 620 districts in India have contaminated groundwater and 56% Indians depend on groundwater for daily use.
What can you do?
While government policy and action is crucial in improving access to safe water, free from pathogens, a number of steps can be undertaken at the individual level to prevent diseases and create awareness.
- Ensuring water is safe by undertaking simple water treatment methods and using portable water filters
- Prevent drinking water from untreated sources
- Heating food before consumption
- Boiling water to kill pathogens
- Keeping food and water covered at all times
The National Health Policy 2017, National Rural Drinking Water Programme and the National Centre for Disease Control are all holistic mechanisms used by the State to reaffirm the government’s commitment to water security, but the dream of such security still remains distant and a luxury. Healthcare investment in the long-term seems to be the only remedy for such maladies to minimise the consequences on human health around the country.
