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SunSaluter: Energy, Water and Jobs Rolled Into One

SunSaluter: Energy, Water and Jobs Rolled Into One
There are upwards of 780 million people in the world who do not have access to clean water. On top of this, an estimated 1.2 billion people lack access to electricity — that is nearly 17 percent of the world’s population. Individuals living under such circumstances suffer chronic exposure to waterborne illnesses, and hundreds of millions more must walk hours each day to collect potable water.

SunSaluter, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to improving energy and water access in the developing world, aims to remedy these issues in a simple and affordable way.

The goal of SunSaluter is to make energy and water more accessible through one simple device. The SunSaluter device itself uses gravity and water, rotating a solar panel throughout the day. The device generates 30 percent more electricity, is 30 times cheaper and is far more durable than motorized solar trackers.

The SunSaluter has been deployed in 16 countries and has impacted nearly 8,000 people worldwide. By boosting solar panel efficiency by 30 percent, fewer solar panels are needed and the overall system costs are reduced by 10-20 percent. This lowering of cost alone has helped the impoverished families eliminate the use of kerosene gas.

How does it work? The SunSaluter enables solar panels to produce energy more consistently through the day, beginning earlier in the morning and lasting later at night. This is critical for rural families who often wake early in the day. It helps decrease the need for batteries to store energy that is usually produced mostly around high noon.

The SunSaluter also contains a water purifier within its system. Each day the device is capable of producing four liters of clean drinking water. By combining both energy and water collection into one simple device, the SunSaluter kills two birds with one stone. It improves consistent usage of the purifier as well, which tends to be the biggest hurdle to overcome for clean water programs.

Consequently, SunSaluter is not just working to help with the lack of energy and water in the developing world. “Our goal is to provide entrepreneurial opportunities for individuals in underdeveloped countries,” Eden Full told Business Insider in a recent interview. “We give them guidance, mentorship, and some funding, and the idea is to spread this technology.”

Currently, the company’s core manufacturing operations are in India. It is looking to move into Malawi as well. SunSaluter and its impact on the developing world have only just begun!

– Keaton McCalla

Photo: Flickr

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Sanitation and Water for All: A Global Partnership

Sanitation and Water for All: A Global Partnership
Access to clean water is a basic human right. Sanitation and Water for All (SWA) is a partnership made up of over 150 country governments, research and learning institutions, external support agencies and civil society and private sector organizations that aims to drive political action that will contribute to accountability and the effective use of resources.

The organization aims to universally and permanently provide safe water and sanitation services across the globe. By fighting for secure and equitable access to clean water, SWA is motivating governments to prioritize this issue and strengthening legislative presences relating to clean water and sanitation.

SWA recognizes the failings of the global community in providing the world’s people with adequate sanitation facilities and access to clean water as well as the implications of these failings. Approximately 2.4 billion people live today without access to quality sanitation means, and 663 million still lack improved water sources.

Both children and adults die every day from diseases caused by unsafe water or lack of appropriate sanitation and hygiene. These diseases strain already ineffective health systems in vulnerable communities and take away from economic productivity. When women and girls are required to walk dozens of miles each week to obtain clean water, they effectively miss out on educational opportunities or chances to become involved in civil society.

The SWA was initially founded with the purpose of addressing water-related millennium development goals and aiding countries that were struggling to reach these goals. Now the partnership focuses on the sustainable development goals (SGDs) related to the WASH sector and is committed to playing a crucial role in reaching SDG targets.

The SWA identifies and outlines the issues involved with the inability to address the WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) sector of policy. Investment in WASH often competes with the financial need to support health, education, infrastructure and other aspects of society.

Another issue is that while many countries have decided upon comprehensive plans relating to water and sanitation, they often lack the capacity to implement these plans in an influential way. This inability to successfully put plans into action can defer investors and political leaders from further contributing to the WASH-related legislature. On the other hand, many countries still lack the information and aid to even construct a plan to protect and improve water, sanitation and hygiene.

Through the alignment of donors behind transparent and accountable means of national planning, the harmonization of countries and organizations, mutual accountability and management of results, the SWA hopes to continuously advocate both domestically and internationally for people who lack clean water or sanitation.

Sanitation and Water for All aims to “turn the current situation around by creating a virtuous cycle of robust planning, institutional strengthening, better resources utilization and higher investment” that has the likelihood of creating an environment where everyone has access to clean water and effective sanitation measures.

– Peyton Jacobsen

Photo: Flickr

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‘Neverthirst’ Projects: Enhancing Water Quality in Cambodia

Numerous 'Neverthirst' Projects Enhancing Water Quality in Cambodia
In many regions around the world, millions of people lack access to improved water sources and billions are without proper sanitation materials. In order to combat these harsh realities and situations, many organizations are focused on bringing clean water to those who need it. One of these groups is Neverthirst, an international nonprofit dedicated to providing clean and living water solutions throughout North Africa and Southern Asia. To accomplish this, the organization creates numerous projects, and currently, its focus is on the improvement of water quality in Cambodia.

Located in Southeast Asia, the country and its inhabitants are faced with a distressing problem. The issue of water quality in Cambodia is truly a serious one, but with the assistance of Neverthirst, water quality for all Cambodians can be enhanced. But what projects are being implemented, and how do they improve water quality in Cambodia?

Cambodia Biosand Filter and Latrine Project

The Cambodia Biosand Filter and Latrine Project addresses the issue that although many people have access to water, the quality of the water makes it unsafe and often unsuitable for necessary actions such as consumption.

Drinking unsafe and dirty water can potentially lead to devastating health problems, including diarrheal diseases. Diarrhea alone kills more than 800,000 children under five annually, or about 2,200 children every day. This initiative strives to slow the transmission and development of further diarrheal diseases, thus reducing the number of deaths in children under five in Cambodia.

Cambodia Well Project

Some Cambodians have access to clean water, however, transporting water can be extremely difficult. Usable water is usually located a great distance from the community, making it nearly impossible to carry a significant amount of water per trip.

Through the Cambodia Well Project, Neverthirst hopes to improve accessibility and availability of clean water substantially by installing high-quality hand pumps that can last up to 10 years. In addition to the installation of hand pumps, the organization also gives the communities and villages further funds for any required repairing of the hand pump in the future and instructs users on how to maintain it over time.

The creation and use of these pumps will greatly increase the water quality in Cambodia that is received and utilized by the various communities.

Cambodia School Project

In the immense province of Mondulkiri, many schools and children don’t have access to safe drinking sources. For a portion of schools in the region, schools’ only source of water is a shallow well. Neverthirst, through both the Cambodia School Project and the School Rain Tank Project, is attempting to instill a two-step process that will greatly improve schools’ access to clean water.

First, the construction of a concrete rain tank will collect and provide water for an average of 250 students per school. After the completion of the rain tank, education on safe drinking water is next. Teaching children the importance of clean drinkable water is important to the prevention of future disease outbreaks.

Conclusion

Overall, Neverthirst has created a massive 5,537 projects, serving more than 390,000 people in a total of five countries. Currently, the organization has projects established in Sudan, South Sudan and India.

Each year, more than three million people die from water-related causes, including inadequate sanitation and poor hygiene. With the assistance of Neverthirst, countries, communities and villages like those in Colombia can be aided in its rebuilding efforts and enhance its water quality and safety.

Water quality in Cambodia is just one issue, and Neverthirst is dedicated to helping in all corners of the world.

– Jordan J. Phelan

Photo: Flickr

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Five Ways Global Communities Fight Poverty in Ghana

Global Communities Poverty in Ghana
A non-profit organization called Global Communities works to end poverty in Ghana with a 5-point plan in conjunction with USAID’s Multi-Sectoral Nutrition Strategy.

The non-profit organization works in more than 20 countries around the world, with Ghana being a focus of the recent programs. Global Communities, created about 60 years ago, works with the private sector, governments and local communities to provide the “means and ability to live and prosper with dignity,” something it ensures under its organization’s vision.

The Maryland-based organization paired with USAID in support of the Multi-Sectoral Nutrition Strategy to be implemented over the years 2014-2025. The program’s goal seeks to reduce chronic malnutrition by 20 percent over those 11 years. Global Communities has put forth these five goals in hopes of accelerating the fight against malnutrition in Ghana.

1. Provide more opportunities for economic growth through microfinance

Individuals who do not have access to the capital provided by large financial services corporations can gain access to funds through various microfunding institutions. These smaller companies allow a more intimate relationship between the lender and the borrower. Global Communities works through Boafo Microfinance Services in order to provide low-income Ghanaians with the money for new businesses, education and homes.

2. Build a more “resilient” Ghana by improving the nutrition in local diets

In order to reach this goal, Global Communities has partnered with the USAID/Ghana Resiliency in Northern Ghana (RING) program to “reduce poverty and improve the nutritional status of vulnerable populations.” The introduction of the sweet potato in local Ghanaian farms was a successful implementation of the partnership. Both USAID and Global Communities hope to educate communities on the importance of good nutrition instead of just providing temporary relief.

3. Create pathways for urban youth to become financially independent

Global Communities has joined the Youth Inclusive Entrepreneurial Development Initiative For Employment in opening up the construction sector to Ghana’s youth. In five of the biggest cities in Ghana, the initiative hopes to “reach more than 23,000 youth” by teaching them the skills for employment. Because Africa’s youth makes up a majority of the population, targeting this demographic is the most effective way to reducing poverty in Ghana.

4. Improve access to clean water and sanitation

Working with both the public and private sector, Global Communities is working to enhance the current water and sanitation infrastructure. With focus on “slum communities” in three cities, the non-profit seeks to optimize every individual’s condition while constructing water and sanitation services that can be sustainable. These efforts are paired with USAID’s Water Access Sanitation and Hygiene for the Urban Poor (WASH-UP) and USAID’s WASH for Health (W4H). An important part of the relief is affecting a change in behavior which can help create a poverty-free society that operates without relief.

5. Upgrade local neighborhoods and reinforce political and social institutions

After the basic needs of food, water and shelter are met, a society can begin to upgrade its political, economic and social conditions. Global Communities, with the Bill & Melinda Gates SCALE-UP program, echoes this idea as it reinforces educational and financial institutions for residents in the low-income communities of Accra and Sekondi-Takoradi. The expansion of government services, such as female inclusivity and public transportation, in those regions is being implemented through the Our City, Our Say project.

Global Communities is just part of a larger non-profit coalition fighting against global poverty in Ghana. The process includes numerous programs with funding from various foreign governments, each generating results through their focus on different parts of the Ghanaian society. Readers can follow the various programs and outcomes on the Global Communities website.

– Jacob Hess

Sources: Global Communities 1, Global Communities 2, USAID 1, USAID 2
Photo: Borgen Project

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The Life Sack: Providing Access to Improved Water Globally

Life-SackApproximately 63 million people do not have access to clean water, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). To address this problem, industrial designers Jung Uk Park, Myeong Hoon Lee and Dae You Lee came up with the Life Sack.

The Life Sack functions as a water purifier that utilizes solar water disinfection process (SODIS) technology. UVA radiation and thermal treatment work together to kill toxic microorganisms and bacteria.

Typically, UVA radiation and thermal treatment are individually harmful to microorganisms and bacteria. The combined effect, therefore, increases the efficacy of the purification process. Moreover, the polyvinyl chloride (PVC) composition lends the Life Sack a high sunlight penetration ratio and durability.

Fashioned as a backpack, the Life Sack also ensures ease of mobility, which is especially crucial for areas without sources of water. These areas rely on individuals to travel outside of the community to supply the water that they need.

Water purification is not the only way that the Life Sack can be used.

The designers were partly inspired by how nongovernmental organizations and other charities often sent their supplies, such as grain and other food staples, in sacks. The Life Sack can thus double as a storage unit, allowing users to easily store and transfer goods other than water when needed. According to CauseTech, some nongovernmental organizations now use the Life Sack rather than “conventional food bags” to send their goods.

Since the initial launch of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), great improvements have been made in global access to improved sources of drinking water. From 1990 to 2015, the percentage of the global population with access to improved sources of drinking water has risen from 76 percent to 91 percent.

Further improvements are still to be made. Of the 63 million without access to clean water, most are concentrated in Sub-Saharan Africa and Southern and Southeast Asia.

A lack of access to clean water increases the propensity for water-borne diseases. Figures from WHO indicate that 760,000 children under five die of diarrheal diseases every year. More universal access to clean water would help in reducing this number.

Goal six of the United Nations’ 2015 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) addresses the need to “ensure access to water and sanitation for all” by 2030. Innovations like the Life Sack may support this effort toward increasing global access to improved water sources.

– Jocelyn Lim

Sources: Inhabitat, SODIS, Tuvie, The United Nations, UNICEF

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Water, Sanitation and Hygiene: Better Nutrition for The Poor

sanitation_and_hygieneExtreme poverty makes access to clean water and nutritional food difficult for millions of people. Sanitation and hygiene also suffer as survival becomes the focus.

However, poor sanitation and hygiene often lead to diseases which cause diarrhea and fluid loss. These conditions can also result in malnutrition as more food is being expelled rather than processed and used. With a little help and knowledge, sanitation, hygiene and clean water can reverse the tide of disease and improve nutrition.

Take for example the situation in the Yarou Plateau village in Mali from the USAID blog:

“People used to use any open space for bathroom needs. Flies could easily find fecal matter lying around, and from there land on food, spreading diseases like diarrhea and intestinal worms. Fecal matter in open areas also contaminated the groundwater, which villagers use for drinking and preparing food. Diarrhea can worsen malnutrition, and the undernourished already have weakened immune systems — making them more susceptible to intestinal infections and more severe episodes of diarrhea.”

To combat the malnutrition these diseases cause, the World Health Organization has set some global targets for 2025:

  1. 40 percent reduction in the number of children under the age of five who have had their growth stunted
  2. 50 percent reduction in the number of women of a reproductive age who experience anemia
  3. 30 percent reduction in babies born with a low birth weight
  4. A halt in the increase of childhood obesity
  5. 50 percent increase in breastfeeding exclusivity during the first six months of a baby’s life

USAID says malnutrition “is an underlying factor in almost half of all child deaths” and also increases a child’s chance of dying from preventable illnesses such as pneumonia and diarrheal disease. These diseases cause anemia, loss of appetite and a decrease in the body’s ability to properly absorb nutrients.

Two years ago, conditions in the Yarou Plateau village changed for the better. The village has improved its sanitation by building more than 60 latrines and fixing ones they already had.

In addition to Yarou Plateau, more than 179 other villages have been able to improve sanitation and hygiene through support from USAID’s project WASHplus.

The program works not only to improve water, sanitation and hygiene but also to reduce “diarrheal diseases and malnutrition.” WASHplus introduces and promotes proper hand washing, water treatment and food preparation and storage.

Where proper sanitation and hygiene practices are initiated and properly implemented, the poor and those living in underdeveloped countries can avoid illness and get the nutrition they need to grow, thrive and break the cycle of poverty.

– Drusilla Gibbs

Sources: USAID, WHO
Photo: Flickr

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Trachoma in Ethiopia: What It Is and What Is Being Done

Trachoma_in_Ethiopia
Trachoma is an endemic disease in Oromia, the largest and most populous state of Ethiopia. The disease has caused an impairment of vision in 2.2 million people in the world as the leading infectious cause of blindness.

The combination of poor sanitation and minimal access to clean water increases the risk of infection and nearly 229 million people in the world live in high-risk areas. Women are more susceptible to infectious trachoma than men because of their higher exposure to young children who are typically the bearers of the disease.

Eighty percent of Ethiopians live in rural areas with poor sanitation and little access to clean water. Seventy-six million people in Ethiopia are at risk of contracting blinding trachoma and another 800,000 people are at risk of irreversible blindness if they do not receive surgery.

Ethiopia only has 120 ophthalmologists and the majority of them work in Addis Ababa. The country is ill-equipped to destroy the disease on its own although the surgical procedures are simple and quick.

The Fred Hollows Foundation is a non-governmental organization focused on eliminating preventable blindness. The organization’s work in Ethiopia is focused mainly on the implementation of the SAFE strategy recommended by the World Health Organization in Oromia’s 225 endemic districts.

SAFE is an acronym for Surgery, Antibiotics, Face-washing, and Environmental improvements. Changing the way people manage personal hygiene has been one of the ways they are trying to reduce the risks of trachoma.

The Fred Hollows Foundation and its partners treated 5,637,226 people with antibiotics and performed more than 7,000 lid surgeries in 2014 alone. They also trained 36 surgeons and 10 clinic support staff as well as supplied $126,747 worth of equipment used to treat trachoma in Ethiopia.

According to the Fred Hollows Foundation website, “What is needed [to eliminate trachoma in Ethiopia] is a significant scale-up of the SAFE strategy, including resources, expertise and commitment from regional and local governments and development organizations in the water, sanitation and hygiene sectors.”

– Iona Brannon

Sources: Al Jazeera, The Fred Hollows Foundation, World Health Organization
Photo: Flickr

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Why Clean Water Matters

Why Clean Water Matters
It’s all too easy to take for granted all of the conveniences available to us as citizens of a developed country. Having access to clean water is a privilege that goes far beyond just being able to use it for drinking or cooking. It can significantly improve the lives of people in poverty for a number of reasons.

For example, access to clean water usually means a person is more likely to have food to eat. After all, 70 percent of our global water use is for irrigation and agriculture. Often, a lack of clean water means a corresponding lack of food, because communities are unable to grow their own. About 84 percent of the people who don’t have access to clean water live on subsistence agriculture, which means that they are dependent on the growth of their own food for survival.

If people have access only to dirty, contaminated water, then they are in constant danger of waterborne diseases like diarrhea, cholera, fluorosis, HIV, malaria, typhoid and parasites such as intestinal worms. All of these run rampant through unsafe water supplies.

If people are getting sick, then someone in the family has to take care of them. That leaves two people out of school or work. Two people whose education or livelihood is put on hold because there isn’t an accessible clean water source.

Oftentimes, women undertake the time-consuming act of hauling water from its source to the villages where it is needed. In Sub-Saharan Africa, 40 billion hours a year are spent hauling water. This leads to to a sort of “time poverty,” where there is less time for endeavors like receiving an education or making money.

Without access to proper sanitation, many girls drop out of school when they reach puberty. Unsafe water acts as a barrier to education for young women in particular, perpetuating the global poverty and gender inequality cycle.

When mothers fear their children are going to die of diseases, they have more children in the hopes that some of them will survive, which often leads to poor maternal health and overpopulation problems. Poor maternal health can also lead to orphaned children who are left to fend for themselves and do not have time for education because they are focused on survival.

In fact, access to clean water is something that underlays almost all of the Millennium Development Goals – eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, achieving universal primary education, promoting gender equality and empowering women, reducing child mortality, improving maternal health, combating disease and ensuring environmental sustainability. In the new set of Sustainable Development Goals, ensuring access to water and sanitation for all is a goal in itself.

Gary Evans of Living Water International put it like this: “We’re in a world where there are 900 million people barely treading water, and the water’s too low for them to reach the ladder. They don’t need a boat. They don’t need a helicopter to rescue them. They just need a little boost so they can reach the ladder. Then they can climb out on their own. Clean water provides that boost.”

So, it’s clear why clean water is important. And the best part? There really is plenty to go around. Groups like The Water Project and Living Water International are working to build sand dams, wells and devices for water collection and sanitation. Every dollar invested in water and sanitation generates about eight dollars worth of health, time and productivity.

Unsafe water and lack of water causes a lot of problems, but what this really means is that there is one simple fix that will address a multitude of global poverty issues. Clean water means a better world in terms of equality, education, health, food security and more.

– Emily Dieckman

Sources: UN 1, UN 2, UN 3, UNICEF, Water, The Water Project
Photo: Easy Drug Card

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The Voss Foundation: Creating a Ripple Effect

voss_foundation
The Voss Foundation works in sub-Saharan Africa to provide sustainable access to clean water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH). Its community-driven approach maintains projects in seven countries: the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Swaziland, and Uganda.

The Voss Foundation mimics the ripple effect from a drop of water in a bucket. When it builds a well, it aims to trigger positive change throughout every sector in a community. Clean water advances development in rural communities by propelling local employment, and in consequence, local economies. Every year, 7.2 billion dollars is saved because of proper water and sanitation. Stronger trends in child development are a result of clean water, hygiene, and sanitation systems because children consume safer diets. Nearly 2,000 children die each day from preventable diseases linked to poor WASH systems. Likewise, food security increases as a result of effective water management. Education sees increases in enrollment and attendance, totaling to 544 million school attendance days gained per year thanks to access to water and sanitation.

Proper sanitation systems reduce the likelihood of contracting water-borne illnesses. Having functioning toilets and practicing hand washing alone prevents diarrheal diseases by 40 percent. Increased attention to health centers protects maternal health, of which 99 percent occur in the developing world.

Generally speaking, quality of life rises as a result of greater access to WASH systems. Women, for example, are able to pursue personal goals like obtaining an education and employment, which conventionally links to embracing female empowerment and equality. The Voss Foundation reports that for every year of primary school, girls’ future wages increase by 10-20 percent. Earning separate incomes also prompts greater gender parity.

The Voss Foundation builds wells and water systems to ensure that these benefits spread worldwide. In Latawken, Kenya, a water system attracted more students to the area, forcing local authorities to expand the school. In Kalebuka, in the Dominican Republic of the Congo, a well provided water for cementing The Malaika School for Girls. In 2011, the school enrolled 106 girls, and by Fall 2015 it expanded to 230 girls. The well continues to provide clean water to the school for its kitchens, gardens, and bathrooms.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufYRGdHEBk8

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, girls are receiving education from the Malaika School for Girls. Thanks to the well built by the Voss Foundation, the school increased enrollment from its original 106 girls in 2011 to 230 girls in Fall 2015. In Pel, Mali, Voss built five wells. “One of them” according to the Voss Foundation, “is at a garden owned by a local women’s cooperative.”

Every Voss project empowers women. Voss projects recruit local council members to oversee the wells or water system, and every water management committee requires at least half of its staff to be female.

The Voss Foundation’s campaign, Women Helping Women, alone raised $650,000 in Europe and the United States. Voss reports that the profits funded 21 clean water access points and 291 sanitation facilities in Kenya, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia and Swaziland, as of February 2015.

VOSS launched another event called One Well at a Time. The contest lasted from March 22 to April 22, 2015. Participants had to promote the issue of water scarcity in sub-Saharan Africa and how gaining access will positively affect short and long-term well-being in local communities. They had the option of choosing from one of three entry methods: an original or rights-free stock photo with a 50-200-word explanation, an original video no longer than three minutes, or a Be Inspired fact with a 50-200 explanation. The winner was announced on Earth Day. Matthew Kistler won the all-expense paid trip to Swaziland and attended the Dedication Ceremony of VOSS Water of Norway and Voss Foundation’s New Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Project.

The Norwegian water company prides itself on serving the 1/6 of the world’s population that has no access to clean drinking water. Approximately two million people die each year from preventable illnesses related to unclean water and poor sanitation. Over 700 million people cannot access clean water and 325 million alone reside in sub-Saharan Africa. Collecting water, on average, requires women and children to walk as far as ten miles per day to the closest, oftentimes unclean, water source. That totals to nearly 140 million hours in just one day, which is comparable to building the Empire State Building 20 times. The Voss Foundation works to eliminate these statistics. Through integrative solutions and sustainable practices, the Voss Foundation aims “to provide meaningful aid” too the 345 million people in sub-Saharan Africa without clean water.

– Lin Sabones

Sources: Voss Foundation 1, Voss Foundation 2, Voss Foundation 3, Voss Foundation 4, Voss Foundation 5, Wall Street Journal, Reuters, PR Newswire
Photo: Voss Foundation

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Addressing Water Supply in Mexico

Mexico
Suffering from a long history of fractioned water provision, in February 2015, the government proposed the privatization of the water supply in Mexico. The bill’s fate still remains uncertain but the public has been adamantly opposed.

Currently, over five million Mexicans are without adequate access to clean water. The idea is that the private sector will be able to supply water to more people with more efficiency and less cost. The proposition also includes a sanitary aspect, claiming that by outsourcing the water supply, the water will be cleaner and therefore safer to drink.

The problems with Mexico’s water supply are internationally known. The economic boom and mass migration to cities, Mexico City in particular, strained all infrastructures, including that of water systems. The systems in place for water deliverance could not support the massive population explosion experienced in the mid to late 1900s. Quick fixes made to the water systems contribute to the widespread problems faced today. The water supplies are inconsistent and inefficient, with many of the mains leaking about 800 gallons into the ground per second. However, the water that does reach the city is generally guaranteed to be contaminated. Mexico City sees the most gastrointestinal diseases stemming from water consumption in the world.

Across the entire country, upwards of 70 percent of all water bodies are contaminated, which has made the water bottle industry a booming business in Mexico. Many Mexicans rely on the private sector already for water consumption. However, for the extremely poor, they remain anxious about affording and having access to water if the privatization goes through. Furthermore, the privatization movement is largely focused on improving water supplies of municipal resources, not for the millions of people who do not have access to municipal resources. The poorest of Mexico’s poor could face additional barriers to accessing clean water.

The privatization of the water sector poses further risks of decreased investment in infrastructure, overexploitation, lack of government responsibility, raised prices and increased pollution. There are also concerns over the connection between the recent trends in fracking in Mexico, which uses about two to ten million gallons of water per operation to pump water into the ground for oil extraction. The privatization poses serious risks that could exacerbate current problems with water deliverance and availability in Mexico.

However, the debate over the movement has shown the world Mexico’s fighting spirit and an increased incidence of political activism and open discussion, both cornerstones for change and democratic development. A series of protests and marches have proven largely effective in informing politicians and the public alike of the serious implications privatization could have.

– Emma Dowd

Sources: Foreign Policy, Isla Urbana
Photo: Flickr