Recently, shortage of potable water has hit the residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). The situation is noticeably pervasive in the nation’s capital, painting an ugly image of FCT, as water vendors hawk water round the places. But, the FCT administration in a recent report owned up to the scarcity and blamed it on private boreholes scattered around the city. Ogbodo Ozioma Favour presents a vivid graphic of the biting situation of unending water scarcity.
Yellow gallons dot the place. It is the UTC axis of Area 10, of Abuja. The gallons are lined up waiting for their turn to be filled with water. Then, taken in wheel barrows to their various places where the customers are waiting to empty the contents. This is a common sight in Abuja. The wheel barrow pushers are a common place in the city of FCT.
Residents’ Lamentation
Hear how a resident copes with the challenge of clean water. My name is Deborah Okema. I am a bead maker and a resident of Abuja, Waru Community in Apo.
Miss Okema is one of the newly immigrated residents who shares her ordeal to access clean water in her community with Africa Health Report (AHR) saying, she has difficult accessing water. She also discloses how she uses salty water most times. ‘I get diarrhea from this salt water’ she said.
“I came to this Community to escape from the high cost of house rent in the city but this community lacks water and the water I drink I buy from ‘aboki’ hawkers who sell per gallon for N100 but due to my body reactions from it, I switched to buying pure water”.
UN’s Records
According to United Nations’ recent facts, 2.3 billion people live in water-stress countries and 733 million live in high and critically water-stressed Countries and this resonates with recent data from WaterAid stating, 60 million people in Nigeria do not have access to basic clean water supply and by 2030, 24 million and 700 million will be displaced due to water scarcity.
According to Dataphyte, 3.8 million residents in Abuja are struggling for access to clean water and most of the residents either fall back to wells, brooks, water vendors, or private boreholes where water as a basic human necessity is now privatized instead of prioritized.
Water is essential to the survival of man and a very important resource because of its numerous uses such as drinking, bathing, cooking, hand washing, and growing food.
Economic Implications
Water as an important tool for human development is very essential and yet, in this 21st Century, Water Scarcity has tightened its grip on the global stage and led to many private firms selling water to residents.
“There is a scarcity of fuel, there’s inflation and there’s still a scarcity of water. I spend an estimated about N200,000.00 yearly purchasing water for cooking, drinking, and bathing yearly, the Government should come to our aid”. Mama Ijeoma, a mother of three and resident in the Wasa community shares with AHR.
Access to safe water can reduce a family’s health care expenses and it’s a basic human right this resonates with Sustainable Development Goal 6 on the importance of achieving ‘clean water and sanitation for all’.
‘Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all by 2030″.
Health Implications of Water Scarcity in both Adults and Children
One of the health implications of unhealthy water is diarrhea and Cholera.
According to data from the Health Center for Disease Control (NCDC), It is estimated that 111,062 suspected Cholera cases with over 3,604 deaths were reported in the country among the most affected were children between the ages of five and fourteen facing the severity. The nation’s capital has 1,286 suspected cases recorded and 77 death rates.
According to the United Nations Children’s Emergency Funds (UNICEF), 1000 children under 5 die every day from diseases caused by contaminated water, poor sanitation and hygiene practices
One of the major implications of unsafe water in children is diarrhea and stunted growth. When children drink unsafe water and are unable to absorb the nutrients they need, over time it leads to stunting which may in-reversibly impact the children’s physical and mental development.
It’s recorded that 144 million children under 5 worldwide are stunted .
WHO on Unsafe Water
The World Health Organization (WHO) recently reported that over the years diarrhea was a result of unsafe drinking water, sanitation, and hand hygiene. Yet diarrhea is largely preventable, and the deaths of 395000 children under 5 years could be avoidable each year if these risk factors are addressed. where water is not readily available, people may decide hand washing is not a priority, thereby adding to the likelihood of diarrhea and other diseases.
The absence of water is likely to lead to many diseases and health complications which can be the order of the day when water is not readily available to residents.
Further, an increase in Malaria can come from water scarcity. According to a WHO report, Nigeria has 194 000 death rate in 2022. This is largely associated with unsatisfactory drinking water supply, poor sanitation conditions, and inadequate health education programs.
The health implications of water scarcity are enormous ranging from the spread of diseases like; dengue fever, diarrhea, dysentery, gastro-enteritis, infection hepatitis, hookworm, guinea worms, scabies, and other parasitic infections.
FCT Water Board
AHR spoke to FCT Water Board, in charge of supplying water to residents in Abuja and Garik Municipal Area
Mrs. Mercy, FCT Water Board Administrator lamented how the lack of water in these communities is mostly due to environmental factors and the Federal Government is working earnestly in making sure all residents have access to water. They can also relocate to the city for water.
“Most of these communities don’t have water due to the nature of the environment but we are working towards providing water for everyone in the FCT community if any resident can’t put up with that, they can relocate to the inner city. We have water in Apo city center and we can’t draw water to those communities but we are working towards it”. She said.
There is urgent need to address the issue of water scarcity in the nation’s capital. Interestingly, this discussion is coming at a time when the world all over is marking World Hand Hygiene Day. Here in Nigeria, the Nigeria Center for Diseases Control and Prevention, NCDC in commemorating the global hygiene day has recommended regular washing of hands. The AHR just reported that
On its official X platform, the NCDC opened a discussion enlightening people on the importance of hand hygiene.
An official, Dr Ameyo Stella Adadevoh, said it is very important to maintain hand hygiene because it saves people from infection especially in the health care environment.
Said Adadevoh, “Hand hygiene is important, especially in our healthcare facilities, because it is very effective way to keep people safe from infection”
“Infection from our health facilities affect our communities, and vice versa. We need to ensure that resources and hand hygiene facilities, like clean water, which enables the culture of hand hygiene, are functional in our community health centers”.
But this can only be realized with the availability of clean or safe water. In a place like Abuja, Nigeria’s capital city where access to clean or safe water is difficult, the resort to unsafe water is inevitable. Consequently, infection attack is inescapable. Therefore, it is an understatement or rather raising unnecessary alarm to state that: epidemic is waiting to happen.
