Water, essence of life: PAHO works to increase its supply and quality in the Americas

Washington, DC, October 3, 2002 (PAHO) -- The health aspirations of many people in the Americas are closely linked to that what both poets and physicians call life's vital liquid. Clean drinking water is still a luxury for 90 million people in the Americas, and crises such as the last cholera epidemic potentially threaten countries of the area, where investments have not reached the levels needed to improve the water and sanitation situation.

"The situation with regard to water and sanitation is still critical," says Dr. Mauricio Pardón Ojeda, director of the Division of Health and Environment of PAHO. "Although there has been progress in terms of coverage, there still are large areas of inequalities, especially in water services in urban fringe areas and rural areas. That is a reflection of the lack of adequate investments in the sector," he explained.

Inter-American Water Day will be celebrated this coming Saturday, October 5. This year's theme is Water: Waste Not, Want Not! The idea is to raise awareness of the importance of conserving water, and to stress the importance of water in our lives.

However, coverage is not the only measure. Quality of services is equally important, and where the quality of drinking water is not good, according to Dr. Pardón, the flourishing bottled water industry reflects the population's perception of the water from faucets.

The alarming sanitation situation can be exemplified with one fact: only about 15 percent of wastewater is treated correctly, and this could worsen. The situation already has a heavy impact on rivers and streams, with contamination of surface water and groundwater of coastal areas in the region.

"If adequate measures are not taken promptly, this could become a crisis of enormous proportions, similar to that which we had with cholera. The necessary investments in water and sanitation in the countries are not being made", Dr. Pardón says.

PAHO's response has been the Regional Plan for Investment in the Environment and Health (PIAS), which outlines the investments required for adequate sanitation conditions in the Region of the Americas. One of its strategies is the preparation of sectoral analyses that identify priorities for countries and regions. "It is important for municipalities and governments prepare concrete projects," Dr. Pardón said.

PAHO also has 30 years of experience working in the promotion of useful and viable technologies for wastewater treatment, such as stabilization ponds.

Recently, PAHO carried out a joint evaluation with UNICEF on the situation at the end of the 1990s. It showed that of the 459 million inhabitants in Latin America in 1998, 70 million lacked drinking water, 95 million lacked sanitation, and 194 million were connected to sewage systems where effluents do not receive treatment. According to conservative figures, Latin America needs some 217 billion dollars in to overcome the cumulative deficit in the sanitary infrastructure.

"To overcome current coverage limitations in drinking water and sanitation, the investments are estimated in the range of 10 to 50 billion dollars, depending on the level of service and of the selected technologies. These numbers could be higher if conventional technologies are used," Dr. Pardón explained.

The division of Health and Environment focuses cooperation efforts on areas with greater inequalities. "The strategy puts emphasis on rural areas, medium-sized municipalities and urban fringe areas, including a broad participation of communities themselves", Dr. Pardón said.

PAHO, which is also the Regional Office for the Americas of the World Health Organization, was officially established in 1902. The oldest health organization in the world, PAHO works with all the countries of the Western Hemisphere to improve health and raise the living standards.

For more information, please contact: Daniel Epstein, Office of Public Information, (202) 974-3459, e-mail: epsteind@paho.org.

Related Information:
PAHO BOOKS:
-Natural Disaster Mitigation in Drinking Water and Sewerage Systems: Guidelines for Vulnerability Analysis
-Health In The Americas, 2002