Thirsting for Success

Thirsting for Success

In the whole world, “783 million people do not have access to clean and safe water. 37% of those people live in Sub-Saharan Africa” (Facts). The issue is not a lack of water itself, but a lack of money to fund better quality water systems, they call it an “economic water scarcity” (What’s). The lack of access to potable water in Sub-Saharan, is both caused by their economic situation and putting a strain on it. Sub-Saharan Africa is at a deficiency of clean water, causing poor health and educational issues. These poor health and educational issues lead to Sub-Saharan Africa’s economy being stunted.

First, Sub-Saharan Africa’s lack of clean water causes drastic problems for their health. A healthy community is a strong basis for a region’s success. An article brought out that the communities in Sub-Saharan Africa are, “dirty and unhygienic, increasing the risk of disease spreading” (The Problems). This is because they do not have enough water to keep things clean. These major health risks are detrimental to the future success because the more people that are sick, the less time they will have to work their way out of poverty (Why). With good health the people in Sub-Saharan Africa can focus their attention on the success of their economy. For this reason they need to stay healthy, starting with more access to clean water.

Second, in Sub-Saharan Africa clean water also has a large effect on their education. Many agree that education is very important in a region’s ability to grow economically. Children are often unable to get a good education for reasons that relate to accessibility of safe water. Young girls and their mothers are often the ones responsible for traveling miles to bring the water, that is available, to their families. But even this hard work does not pay off because the water often makes the whole family sick (Why). When the children get sick from the water they miss school, and are not able to do as well. Also, being so far from any source of water is quite time consuming, it was estimated by the United Nations that, “Sub-Saharan Africa alone loses 40 billion hours per year collecting water; the same as an entire year's labor in all of France!” (Facts). All of that time wasted on the parts of the women and children could be used in more beneficial ways. If these children did not have to bear this burden then they could return the classroom and get a better education. Their education could give them the needed start for success.

In conclusion Sub-Saharan Africa is currently unable to be economically successful, and lack of access to clean water is an undeniable factor. It is very important that they do better economically so they have the money to spend on water sanitation and systems. Water sanitation will go a long way in the lives of those that live in Sub-Saharan Africa. Unfortunately one statistic shows that, “115 people in Africa die every hour from diseases linked to poor sanitation, poor hygiene and contaminated water” (Africa).

Work Cited

"Water For Life Decade, Africa.” UN News Center. UNDESA, 16 May 2014. Web. 07 Mar. 2016.

"Facts and Statistics about Water and Its Effects." The Water Project. 12 August 2014. Web. 07 Mar. 2016.

"The Problems and Solutions to Safe Water in Africa." Triple Pundit. 23 May 2013. Web. 07 Mar. 2016.

"What's Really Causing Water Scarcity in Africa South of the Sahara?" IFPRI Blog, 30 August 2013. Web. 07 Mar. 2016.

"Why Water - Access to Clean, Safe Water in Africa." The Water Project. Web. 07 Mar. 2016.