Drought, conflict driving Afghans to marry off children: UN
More Geneva (AFP) – With a devastating drought worsening an already horrendous humanitarian situation in Afghanistan, parents are increasingly compelled to "sell" young daughters into marriage to pay off debt or buy food, the UN said Tuesday.
"Prior to the drought, over 80 percent of households were already in debt," she said, adding that many people who had hoped to pay off their debt when crops came in have been unable to do so.
Children are paying the price for conflict, children are paying the price for the drought," she said.
"It is very, very shocking," said Suraya Pakzad, who heads Voice of Women, Afghanistan.
"Girls aged between 8-12 years old (are being) sold to old men to solve the economic issues … of their families," she told reporters on the sidelines of the conference.
She described speaking with a father who had "sold" his seven-year-old daughter into marriage, and who said he had no other choice.
I am suffering from that.
But can you give me some option?…
Particularly food," she added.
The UN refugee agency also said that the worst drought in decades has made a desperate situation worse.
Universal Access to Clean Water Improving but Still an Upstream Struggle
Turn on the tap.
Although the country has been recognized as one of the nations that has done the most to improve access to clean water, it is still home to 163 million people – half the population of the United States – who do not have access to safe drinking water.
15 of 2018 published by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India based on its findings as of March 2017.
The sheer scope of the engineering, labor, and volume of materials needed is almost beyond comprehension.
China faces a similar crisis.
It is likely that South Africa will face another water crisis within the next year.
Meanwhile, the objective of India’s National Rural Drinking Water Program is “to provide safe and adequate water for drinking, cooking, and other domestic needs to every rural person on a sustainable basis.” The NRDWP data shows 2017 Goals Actual Status 100% of rural habitations to have access to safe drinking water Only 44% have access to safe drinking water.
100% of government schools and anganwadis [1] to have access to safe drinking water Only 85% of government schools and anganwadis to have access to safe drinking water 50% of the rural population to be provided potable drinking water (55 lpcd1)[2] by piped water supply.
Only 18% of the rural population has access to potable drinking water by piped water supply.
35% of rural households to be provided household connections.
Long-term weather forecast: El Nino to bring worldwide flooding and drought
The United Nation’s (UN) World Meteorological Organisation says there is a 75-80 percent chance that El Nino will be a “weak event” in the next couple of months.
Unfortunately this means El Nino’s role as a natural buffer to the formation of huge storms will also be weakened.
As a result, the natural weather phenomenon will lead to both serious droughts and serious flooding in early 2019 as climate patterns are thrown into chaos.
El Nino is responsible for warming ocean temperatures, which in turn leads to fewer major storms as it is more difficult for them to form over warmer seas.
However, with a weak El Nino predicted major weather systems will take advantage of the cooler ocean and could devastate the globe.
Maxx Dilley, director of the WMO’s Climate Prediction and Adaptation branch, said: “The forecast El Niño is not expected to be as powerful as the event in 2015-2016, which was linked with droughts, flooding and coral bleaching in different parts of the world.
“Even so, it can still significantly affect rainfall and temperature patterns in many regions, with important consequences to agricultural and food security sectors, and for management of water resources and public health, and it may combine with long-term climate change to boost 2019 global temperatures.” The 2016 event was the last El Nino on record, and in turn 2017, where there was no El Nino prior, turned out to be the hottest year on record.
This time it is back, but much weaker than in previous years which could lead to major flooding and droughts.
However, El Nino is just one meteorological aspect affecting the planet’s climate.
Climate change is increasing year-on-year, which is also disturbing global weather systems.
Access to Basic Drinking Water in East Africa
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?
AMWAJ: Water Solutions for Peace
Just as important as availability of drinking water is lack of access to safely managed sanitation, and concerted efforts are being made in the area not only to manage treatment of wastewater, but also for its reuse, in an attempt to achieve sustainability and what is known as a circular economy.
One of the poorest countries in the world in terms of water availability and resources is Jordan.
This is due to several factors including Syrian refugees flocking into the country since 2011, and the geopolitical situation in the region,” according to Bilal Al-Sharif, a Program Manager at the Ministry of Water and Irritation Jordan.
It has partnerships in many projects focus on the water sector.
We have worked with others, like SwitchMed or the Switchers, in the water sector, where we helped them to map the possibility of financing these projects,” said Miguel García, UFM Deputy Secretary General for Water and Environment.
In the MENA region, nations can save up to €500 billion by switching from commercial to circular economies.
“Switching a system is not easy.
Christoph Sodemann, PR head of BORDA, told Egypt Today that they focus on saving and reusing resources.
“You get clean water for irrigation, and it can be combined with sludge treatment plant to create fertilizer in order to keep water in the area where it is used, and not just discharge it out.” CEO of Compost Balady startup Mark Oun explained his company’s focus is to use low-tech and low-cost approaches to be applied in rural areas throughout the Arab region, adding that the predominant challenge they face is the lack of regulation, which forces them to go around the standard approach of selling mechanisms “meaning to create valuable products of the resources recovered so people are encouraged to invest in them.” Raising Awareness of Water Issues The UFM’s García highlighted the importance of environmental activism over the past years in creating more awareness of water issues, and highlighted the climate change agenda whereby all Mediterranean countries are committed to the Paris agreement to develop their national policies.
Marina Presas, a science and technological communication journalist at EURECAT, noted that translating the language of science in a way that everyone understands is the biggest challenge facing journalists.
Water access and sanitation shape birth outcomes and earning potential
Kolkata, Nov 12 (IANS/Mongbay): Spending more time per day fetching water increased Indian women’s risk of delivering a low birth-weight baby, a study has said.
The present study contributes to the limited evidence related to environmental causes of PTB and LBW by demonstrating that lack of household WASH infrastructure and social factors, like crime and harassment of women and girls, are risk factors for adverse birth outcomes in women in low- and middle-income countries, the researchers write.
The survey asked women about their drinking water source, walking time to that source, time spent fetching water, sanitation (toilet) access, harassment of women and girls and local crime among other queries.
Gendered roles of water usage In November, India restructured its National Rural Drinking Water Programme with a goal to reach 90 percent of rural households with piped water by 2022.
Despite women’s significant role in water use and household management, their needs and uses of water are not often represented in water resource management policies or projects, according to a 2017 study co-authored by Maheshwari which looked at the gendered roles and responsibilities of water usage and collection in two watersheds of rural India.
Make sure you condition your hair every time you shampoo.
Condition your hair from mid-length and ends and rinse well.
* Use a clarifying shampoo (not recommended for coloured hair) but not too often.
* Use products that contain oils which will make your hair look shiny and improve texture and smooth the frizz.
* Use natural, gentle hair cleansers and conditioners to remove product build up without stripping the scalp off its natural oils.
Water access and sanitation shape birth outcomes and earning potential
Spending more time per day fetching water increased Indian women’s risk of delivering a low birth-weight baby, a study has said.
It suggests physical and psychosocial stress are possible mechanisms by which water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) access affects pre-term births (PTB) and low birth-weight (LBW) among Indian women.
"What we think is most likely is that carrying heavy loads of water requires a lot of calories, and that many women aren’t consuming enough healthy food during pregnancy to sustain the micronutrient needs to grow a healthy baby," said study co-author Kelly Baker, an assistant professor of occupational and environmental health.
Pregnant women need to consume 300 extra calories per day of nutritious food to give the foetus adequate nutrition.
The present study contributes to the limited evidence related to environmental causes of PTB and LBW by demonstrating that lack of household WASH infrastructure and social factors, like crime and harassment of women and girls, are risk factors for adverse birth outcomes in women in low- and middle-income countries, the researchers write.
The survey asked women about their drinking water source, walking time to that source, time spent fetching water, sanitation (toilet) access, harassment of women and girls and local crime among other queries.
Of these women, 14.9 percent experienced premature birth and 15.5 percent delivered a low birth weight baby.
Gendered roles of water usage In November, India restructured its National Rural Drinking Water Programme with a goal to reach 90 percent of rural households with piped water by 2022.
Despite women’s significant role in water use and household management, their needs and uses of water are not often represented in water resource management policies or projects, according to a 2017 study co-authored by Maheshwari which looked at the gendered roles and responsibilities of water usage and collection in two watersheds of rural India.
Further, the outcome highlighted the need for planners and policy decision makers to recognise the diverse roles that women play in groundwater use and management.
Water scarcity meets fragile states
In Iraq, water management issues, combined with weak state institutions and a situation of armed conflict, fuelled instability.
Dead trees tower over the area of Siba in the Iraqi city of Basra, last July.
(AP) In a recently released report titled “Water Management in Fragile Systems,” the World Bank and the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) highlighted the compound risks faced by the North Africa and Middle East region as its precarious state institutions struggle to meet the challenges related to water scarcity and mismanagement.
Armed conflict, the displacement of millions and ongoing upheavals have sorely tested the ability of all MENA countries to meet immediate and more long-term water challenges.
“Existing water management systems, already plagued by weak governance, limited resources, and degraded infrastructure, are now failing when they are needed the most,” the report warned.
In Iraq, water management issues, combined with weak state institutions and a situation of armed conflict, fuelled instability.
The World Bank-FAO report points out that “as water issues are left unaddressed, their impact increases, eroding government legitimacy and destabilising fragile contexts.” Better water management should be part of post-conflict reconstruction efforts.
Abdessalam Ould Ahmed, assistant director-general of the FAO, called for a public service-private sector partnership that could muster the means for better water management, the creation of jobs and alleviation of the burden of frayed state institutions.
He also called for more cooperation between Arab countries and MENA nations.
“A regional collaborative approach is necessary, as surface and groundwater resources often cross national borders,” he said.
Malaysia: UN human rights expert on drinking water and sanitation to visit
“I look forward to learning about how the Malaysian water and sanitation sector, after having started a reform in the mid-2000’s, is organised to provide equal access to water and sanitation for the entire population in Malaysia,” said Leo Heller.
“I would like to further learn about the crucial role of the recently established Ministry of Water, Land and Natural Resources and how the federal and local governments cooperate in ensuring access to those services in Peninsular Malaysia and the federal territories as well as in East Malaysia, namely, the States of Sabah and Sarawak.” The Special Rapporteur will assess whether the entire population in Malaysia has sufficient, hygienic and safe, acceptable, physically accessible and affordable water and sanitation services, without discrimination.
The UN independent expert will travel to Gua Musang, Kota Kinabalu, Kuala Lumpur, Miri, Putrajaya and Sandakan.
In a recent report, the Special Rapporteur focused on the human rights to water and sanitation of forcibly displaced persons, in particular, the internally displaced, refugees, asylum seekers, undocumented populations and migrants in vulnerable situations.
A news conference to share the expert’s preliminary findings will be held **in Kuala Lumpur **on 27 November, at 11am at the JW Marriott Hotel.
Access is strictly limited to journalists.
Mr. Léo Heller_ (Brazil) is the Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation, appointed in November 2014.
_ _Learn more: http://www.ohchr.org/SRwaterandsanitation _ Special Rapporteurs are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council.
They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.
UN Human Rights, Country Page – Malaysia For more information and media requests, please contact: _During the mission: Ms. Ahreum Lee +41 79 201 0119 / __ahreumlee@ohchr.org_ _For media inquiries related to other UN independent experts please contact: Mr. Jeremy Laurence, UN Human Rights – Media Unit (+41 22 917 9383 /jlaurence@ohchr.org) _ This year, 2018, is the _70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the UN on 10 December 1948.
NIGERIA: $60 million drinking water and sanitation programme launched by USAID
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has recently launched the Effective Water Sanitation and Hygiene Programme (E-Wash) in Nigeria.
The water and sanitation project will impact four states in the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
In Nigeria, 57 million people lack access to safe drinking water and sanitation services, according to the United Nations (UN).
It has therefore launched a project called the Effective Water, Sanitation and Hygiene programme (E-Wash).
Over the next four years, the programme will help to strengthen the governance, financial and technical sustainability of the entities responsible for water and sanitation management in each state concerned.
According to the organisation, in the various countries, more than 3.1 million people have benefited from sustainable access to safe drinking water, and more than 3 million have benefited from improved access to sanitation facilities.
These results concern in particular more than 500,000 women and girls, often poorly taken into account in their specific needs.
“By strengthening the capacity of these water boards to make concrete investment decisions, improving the efficiency of billing and collection and addressing their customers’ concerns, more people and businesses will ultimately have access to water and sanitation services,” said Benson Ajisegiri, Director of Water Supply at the Ministry of Water Resources.
USAID will invest more than 60 million dollars in the project.
Jean Marie Takouleu