79,580,618 is the number of people living in EAC countries without basic access to drinking water or over 49% of the population.
What do you mean by basic access to drinking water?
Water which requires trips of longer than 30 minutes to retrieve, or that is sourced from ponds, streams, or unprotected wells is not included in basic service of drinking water.
Even with basic drinking water service, consumer level boiling or other treatment of water is necessary.
How does access to basic drinking water compare to other regions of the world?
Of this figure, 159 million people drink untreated surface water from lakes or streams.
Is basic water access in the EAC improving or declining?
These diseases affect the vulnerable populations the most.
The main challenges are a lack of infrastructure to install pipes to transport water.
What is being done in the EAC to meet the need for basic water access?

He said the department will establish chlorination systems in other water supply sources in the city so chlorinated water that meets World Health Organisation guidelines can be distributed.
“Chlorine facilities will be set up in the Nyaung Hnapin Water Treatment Plant, in Hlawga Lake, Lagunbyin Water Treatment Plant, and the Yegu Pumping Station to distribute chlorinated water for the whole city,” U Zaw Win Aung said.
YCDC has called for continued efforts to raise public awareness to avoid activities that can pollute water sources, stressing that access to clean water is essential for the wellbeing of the city’s residents.
Another urgent problem facing the YCDC water system is the vulnerability of its pipes to contamination.
“Now we have 24-hour water access from YCDC water supply pipes.
But I don’t know if it is chlorinated or not.
Currently YCDC is collaborating with international organisations to reduce non-revenue water.
“The efforts to reduce non-revenue water in Yangon, including fixing leaking pipes, will not only prevent water loss but will also improve the quality of tap water,” U Zaw Win Aung said.
He said that at present the total water needs of Yangon is about 709 million litres per day and only around two million people get city water because of non-revenue water.
He said the YCDC has to develop more water supply projects to meet water demand and improve the distribution, pressure, and quality of pipe water.

There is also no proper management of solid waste although its production in rural areas is less.
There is modern toilet facilities used but the waste water generated needs to be managed effectively.
The open defecation is less in cities.
Solid waste dumped around in the open environment which needs proper management.
There is no effective solid waste management, treatment and safe disposal system in Afghanistan.
Solid waste is generated and collected from different areas, sources and is of different types.
Afghanistan has not that much good sanitation and hygiene conditions.
According to a UNICEF/WHO joint monitoring program (JMP) for water supply, sanitation and hygiene report a survey conducted on sanitation in year 2015 indicates that still Afghanistan lacks much behind the other countries in sanitation sector.
Consequences of poor sanitation: If sanitation is not taken care of such as proper toilet facilities, safe habits of human excreta disposal, proper sewerage techniques, proper solid waste management, waste is disposed of in the streets creating a foul smell and terrible living conditions for inhabitants.
Most people have limited knowledge and understanding of the good hygienic practices which could reduce the health risks from poor sanitation, hygiene and waste management.

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Meanwhile, more than 90 percent of surface water sources in the country are contaminated, according to reports from the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources.
“We wish we had water from a faucet.” According to the Salvadoran Foundation for Economic and Social Development (FUSADES), nearly a quarter of the population in rural areas has no access to running water either in their homes or at public taps.
According to Maria Dolores Rovira, head of the department of process engineering and environmental sciences at UCA, water quality and supply are similarly deficient in poor neighborhoods in the capital, San Salvador.
The region’s drought-prone Dry Corridor, in particular, is one of the most vulnerable regions in the world to the disasters resulting from a changing climate, and it blankets El Salvador.
(Learn how climate change is impacting Guatemala.)
In 2014, for example, Central America suffered a record drought, leaving at least 96,000 Salvadoran families without adequate food.
For Minister Pohl, the counter-proposal represents an attempt to privatize decision-making, which she argues is more reckless than privatizing service provision.
“All of these issues related to climate change or to other causes of the crisis of water in El Salvador keep coming back to the lack of institutional structures to regulate water,” he says.
“El Salvador’s viability as a nation really depends on the state of its natural resources, especially water.” Heather Gies is a freelance journalist.

And how is it applied to real life?
In a world of rapid changes, unequal water resources, polluted water bodies, growing demands, and increasing climate variability and climate change, our relationship with water is quickly shifting.
In Latin America, home for 650 million people, those changes are not an exception, and the term “Water Security” is becoming more and more relevant.
In the most urbanized continent of the developing world, cities grow fast, vulnerability is latent in vast and fragile large peri-urban areas, and enhanced climate phenomena put high stress on water resources management, delivering of water services and means of production.
The World Bank has launched an initiative to support governments to assess national water security in a comprehensive and systematic manner.
Three countries have been selected to start this regional initiative: Argentina, Colombia and Peru.
A multidisciplinary team of high level experts is working closely with the Governments and stakeholders in these countries to assess the positive and negative impacts of the performance of the water sector in the country’s development.
In parallel, the World Bank is gathering and assessing a great amount of sectoral information for the rest of the region.
The final product of this work will show how water has a multiplicative effect in other sectors and how addressing key challenges can trigger positive changes in the LAC countries’ economy.
It will highlight current water constraints and provide guidance to define a pathway to increase water resilience, reduce associated water conflicts, improve delivery of water services and sustain water resources, and contribute to a more robust, inclusive and sustainable development.

(KNOE) – People in Grambling are getting their hands on water bottles.
It’s the most water some of them have seen since early this week after city leaders say someone hit a water hydrant Wednesday causing a water leak.
Around noon Friday, Mayor Edward Jones told people the city had enough water to supply all those who live here, but officials were having a hard time finding out where the water is going.
And, like the water, some residents were running low on patience.
"We want you to know we understand your frustrations.
We understand.
We will stay up 25 hours a day to accommodate our citizens," said Mayor Jones.
Which is why city leaders, homeland security and Super One are helping out by giving away three water bottles to each person.
Lincoln Parish Fire Department is also helping by letting people fill up buckets of non-drinking water to flush their toilets or to wash things off.
City leaders said they expect water to be back running Saturday morning.

Today’s infographic is from Raconteur, and it puts the global issue of water access into staggering perspective.
It’s a two-fold problem: safe drinking water is hard to come by, while basic access to sanitation is less common than you’d expect.
Many people in the world spend hours waiting in long lines, often multiple times a day, for community-shared water, or, they have to travel to distant sources just to collect it.
World regions are categorized according to five classifications for drinking water access.
After a change in river source in 2014, insufficient water treatment resulted in lead from pipes leaching into the drinking water, affecting over 100,000 residents.
This is because roughly 4.5 billion people still don’t have access to a toilet, with the problem being particularly acute on the African continent.
From an economic perspective, it’s easy to see why: An estimated $260 billion is lost globally each year from the lack of basic water and sanitation.
Almost $18.5 billion in benefits can come from universal access to basic water and sanitation.
Securing water access has profound consequences.
Between 2001 and 2015, there’s been a 9% improvement in safe drinking water, while safely managed sanitation has risen by 10%.

Uganda says it is about to obtain funding from the French Development Agency (AFD) for drinking water and sanitation projects.
It’s official.
He said the money is intended to finance several drinking water and sanitation projects in Uganda.
“This funding will ensure the equitable provision of adequate drinking water and improved sanitation services on an acceptable and sustainable basis,” says Ofwono Opondo.
In concrete terms, this involves upgrading several water and sanitation infrastructures in Mbarara, Insingiro and Massaka.
An additional loan Ofwono Opondo says that an additional loan of 640 billion shillings (150 million euros) has been approved in Entebbe by the firm’s board.
The aim is to support Phase II of the Kampala Water and Sanitation Project.
Sanitation around Lake Victoria The other component of this new loan is to support the Lake Victoria II Water Supply and Sanitation Project.
“Adequate storage facilities will be put in place, in addition to new or refurbished distribution systems, to extend water coverage in the large city of Kampala,” said the AfDB.
In addition, the project provides for the supply of equipment (tractors in particular) for an improved solid waste management system, the construction of new drainage systems to target high-risk areas.

Oil production in South Sudan has poisoned the drinking water of some 600,000 people.
"As a responsible organization, we place the interests of the local community as paramount," the Kuala Lumpur-based Petronas wrote to DW on April 18, dismissing the allegations by Sign of Hope, which works to protect the rights of people in distress.
"Whilst we deny the allegations made by Sign of Hope, we are considering Sign of Hope’s views about improving the situation in South Sudan and we are pleased to have had a positive exchange right at our very first meeting," Petronas said.
A concrete proposal was already on the table, it added.
Glimmer of hope Sign of Hope co-chair Klaus Stieglitz told DW that participants at a meeting between the two parties in Zurich appeared to be seriously interested in finding a solution.
At the time, Sign of Hope was running several health projects in the region.
Africa Water Ltd. wants to restore functionality to 15 boreholes within one year to give people in the region access to uncontaminated water.
"The Water for Life project will bring benefits of clean water supply to more than 40,000 people in South Sudan," Petronas spokeswoman Zahariah Abd Rahman told DW in an email.
More water projects would follow, she said.
What came as a surprise was that the project is not in South Sudan’s oil region but in the capital Juba.

Through its subsidiary Uduma Mali, the Odial Solutions group will soon provide drinking water to 264,000 people in Mali.
A large part of the inhabitants of the city of Sikasso in southern Mali will soon be freed from drinking water problems: the French company Odial Solutions (Vergnet Hydro holding company) has just committed itself to providing drinking water services, through its local subsidiary Uduma Mali, with representatives from 11 municipalities.
The signing took place on Friday, November 9, 2018 in Bougouni, a town located in the circle (corresponding to the department) of the same name, in the Sikasso region.
The company will gradually be responsible for managing 1,400 hand pumps installed in all the municipalities concerned.
Uduma Mali has indicated that it intends to renovate some of the damaged pumps by repairing or replacing them.
The company will transform the drinking water infrastructure into an “e-pump”, i. e. running with connected motors that will make it very easy for residents to pay their water bills.
The financing issue The project has been approved by the Malian authorities, including the Ministry of Energy and Water.
The company will operate under the supervision of the Regional Hydraulics Directorate (DRH).
The project, which is expected to employ several dozen people, will have a total cost of CFAF 3.3 billion, or €5 million.
Access to safe drinking water has been significantly improved in the Sikasso region in recent years, thanks to numerous drinking water supply projects.