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Goal #6 is to promote clean water and sanitation to communities in need of it. This interested me because I feel like it gets overlooked a lot when people talk about needs that other people don't have. They mainly first go for food or shelter but not really towards clean water

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Having clean water and sanitation is critically vital to humanity since it helps to prevent the spread of disease. According to WHO they usually refer to this as WASH. Drinking unsafe water combined with little to no sanitation can cause diseases and diarrhea.

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Safe drinking-water, sanitation and hygiene are crucial to human health and well-being. Safe WASH is not only a prerequisite to health, but contributes to livelihoods, school attendance and dignity and helps to create resilient communities living in healthy environments.

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The COVID-19 outbreak has caused many people to lose their access to clean water

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It is important because this affects 3 main topics. Poverty reduction, Climate Change, and Human Rights. This can help to reduce poverty because without clean water, communities are unable to maintain good hygiene practices, which can lead to increased illness, decreased productivity, and higher healthcare costs. By helping them they not only reduce the chance of having to pay for healthcare like hospital visits and medicine but they also lead healthier lives. This can affect climate change because climate change is already exacerbating water scarcity and affecting water quality in many regions. By enhancing water quality we not only help those in need but also push back climate change as well. This also affects human rights because as human beings it is our right to have good water and access to proper sanitation. On top of that in many countries women and girls are gravely affected by the lack of clean water and sanitation. They often bear the responsibility of collecting water for their families, which can be time-consuming and physically demanding.

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Clean Water & Sanitation | Close the Gap Foundation

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Clean Water & Sanitation is one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) established by the United Nations in 2015. It focuses on providing safe and affordable drinking water, adequate sanitation, and hygiene facilities, improving water quality, and protecting ecosystems related to water r

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This Ted Talk dives deeper into the meaning behind Goal #6 and its importance to not only the UN but the whole word

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SDG 6: clean water and sanitation | Yuheng Jin | TEDxJPGZX Youth

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Countries with the least access to clean water

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Countries with the least access to clean water

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This article gives an overview of the countries most affected by this cause

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COVID-19 Affecting water and sanitation access 

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COVID-19 Affecting water and sanitation access 

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Abstract

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the availability and consumption of safe water reached alarming levels. Millions of people still lack access to basic water and sanitation services, and their number is expected to increase, thus increasing the risk of virus transmission. This chapter introduces the impact of COVID-19 on water and sanitation. It starts with discussing the importance of water for health, followed by the effect of COVID-19 on the water and sanitation sectors. It then explains about Sustainable Development Goal-6 (clean water and sanitation) in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. By the end of the chapter, lessons learned regarding the water and COVID-19 pandemic were highlighted. It was concluded that shift in the water demand, overuse of water, detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater, contamination of water bodies, and inability to pay water bills were the major challenges that SARS-CoV-2 posed.

Keywords: Water, Hygiene, Sanitation, COVID-19, Sustainable development goals

1. Importance of water for health

(a)
Water-borne diseases: caused by ingesting polluted water containing pathogens (e.g., diarrheal diseases, cholera, typhoid).

(b)
Water-washed diseases: caused by inadequate personal hygiene due to lack or scarcity of water (e.g., scabies, trachoma, skin infections).

(c)
Water-based diseases: caused by the intermediate host that lives in water and carries the pathogenic agent (e.g., schistosomiasis).

(d)
Water-related vector-borne diseases: caused by vectors of communicable diseases that develop in or near water (e.g., malaria, yellow fever, dengue fever).

In addition, diseases may occur due to a combination of these causes. For instance, amebiasis is caused by inadequate personal hygiene and polluted water.

The water crisis is defined as "a significant decline in the available quality and quantity of freshwater, resulting in harmful effects on human health and economic activity." According to the World Economic Forum, the water crisis is the number five global risk in terms of impact on society. Water scarcity affects a quarter of the world's population, which is expected to worsen with time.⁶ Today, 785 million people (1 in 9), 2 billion people (1 in 3), and 3 billion people (2 in 5) globally lack access to safe water, adequate sanitation, and soap and water for handwashing at home, respectively.⁷ Furthermore, the United Nations states that nearly 22% of the healthcare facilities globally do not have access to the required water and sanitation services.³ The water crisis is also a health crisis. WASH-related diseases cause about 1 million deaths annually.⁷ In European countries, 31 and 48 million people do not have access to basic sanitation and piped water, respectively, and the unsafe water supply is leading to 14 deaths daily.⁸ According to World Health Organization (WHO), poor water and sanitation services accounted for 829,000 deaths due to diarrheal diseases in 2016, equal to 1.9% of the global disease burden.³ Also, a child dies from a water-related disease every 2 min.⁷ More than 90,000 deaths and 2.8 million cases of cholera are reported each year. If untreated, patients die from dehydration within hours. However, with treatment, the case fatality rate can be decreased to less than 1%.⁹ Moreover, global warming, urbanization, the rapid growth of megacities, more people living in areas with water stress, and aging infrastructure are major problems that the water sector is facing worldwide.³ Sometimes, natural disasters further worsen the situation as they result in biological or chemical contamination of water and food, disruption of water supply, damage of the water sources and wastewater treatment services, and electricity cut off, which interrupts pumping water. Hence, an outbreak of water and sanitation-related diseases and a nutrition emergency might occur some weeks or months later after a disaster happens. Climate change is exacerbating the situation. It is leading to more floods and longer droughts. The latter dries up the springs, and floods pollute the water sources.¹⁰

To have a healthy community, it is critical to promote hygiene practices, supply safe drinking water, provide sanitation facilities, and reduce environmental health risks. 2, 12 Key components for strengthening communities before and during an emergency are continuous public education about household water treatment, food hygiene, hand washing, waste disposal, and latrines usage. The top public health priorities in emergencies are (a) having access to healthcare, shelter, food, water supplies, and sanitation facilities; (b) controlling communicable diseases; and (c) having public health surveillance in place.¹⁰

This chapter aims to discuss the effects of COVID-19 on the water and sanitation sectors. It highlights the challenges that SARS-Cov-2 posed to these sectors by giving examples from different countries and state the related lessons learned.

2. Effect of COVID-19 on water

2.1. Characteristics of SARS-CoV-2

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes COVID-19, can be transmitted from human to human via direct contact with infected person/surfaces and infective respiratory droplets.¹³ To protect the human health during the COVID-19 outbreak, like in any other infectious disease outbreak, appropriate WASH conditions should be provided.¹⁴ According to the WHO, hand hygiene at the right time and correctly using soap and water or alcohol-based hand rub is one of the preventive measures against SARS-CoV-2. 13, 15 Soap can destroy the lipid bilayer surrounding SARS-CoV-2, and the water removes the remaining inactivated virus.¹⁶ Therefore the spread of COVID-19 is influenced by water availability and accessibility.¹⁷

SARS-COV-2 is an enveloped virus consisting of a fragile external membrane that can become quickly inactive, since it is less stable and very sensitive to oxidants than viruses with water-based transmission (such as rotavirus, norovirus, adenoviruses, and hepatitis A virus).¹⁵ Enveloped viruses are known to be less stable in the environment than nonenveloped human enteric viruses (such as rotavirus, adenovirus, and hepatitis A). The virus can be easily inactivated by chlorine, heat, ethanol, ultraviolet (UV) rays,¹⁸ low or high pH, and sunlight.¹³ The presence of organic matter in the water increases the virus's survival.¹⁹ There is no evidence about the persistence of SARS-CoV-2 in treated drinking water, although its presence in untreated drinking water is possible. According to the current evidence, the fecal-oral transmission pathway, i.e., SARS-CoV-2 transmission from the feces, seems to be low.¹³

2.2. Vulnerabilities

COVID-19 hit the vulnerable the most. Those who rely on water tankers, private vendors, water points, and toilets in the community will be more vulnerable than others. The high cost of water and waiting for hours to collect water where physical distancing is not feasible can further increase the vulnerability. Also, having limited household budgets might lead some families to consider hand sanitizer and soap a burden and not a priority.²⁰

It is very challenging to contain the virus where there is lack of reliable and good quality WASH services, which is the case in many underdeveloped and developing countries.³ These countries have limited wastewater treatment capacities, and untreated wastewater is usually directly discharged into the water bodies. India, Vietnam, Pakistan, Philippines, and Indonesia treat only 38%, 10%, 8%, 4%, and 1% of their wastewater, respectively. More than 85%, 80%, and 50% of households in sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, and Latin America are not connected to the sewerage network. In addition, if the wastewater treatment facilities are present, they often do not meet the required national standards due to unsafe management leading to environmental contamination. In many areas, surface or groundwater is directly used (without treatment) by households for daily activities, posing a public health risk. Slums and informal settlements are deprived of their basic needs (clean water, drainage, waste collection, toilets, and sewers) that foster the spread of the diseases.¹⁹ For example, in India, the sewage treatment capacity is very limited such that only 38% of the generated sewage is treated. This means that more than 38,000 million liters of untreated sewage is directly discharged into the rivers daily. The rivers are also polluted by industrial effluents.¹⁵ In the Indian urban areas, about 70% of the sewage goes directly to the water bodies without being treated, and the remaining treated sewage water is used in irrigation.¹⁵ In Brazil, it was reported that the COVID-19 cases and deaths were in municipalities having very limited access to safe water or sewerage system.²¹

COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of providing safe water, sanitation, and hygiene for all to protect their health. Although handwashing seems to be a simple recommendation to prevent being infected by SARS-COV-2, it is very complicated in regions with water scarcity. Eighteen out of 22 Arab countries suffer from water scarcity.²² 1700 m ³/person/year is the threshold of renewable water. Countries whose annual renewable water supplies are between 1000 and 1700 m ³/person/year, below 1000 m ³/person/year, or below 500 m ³/person/year are considered to be experiencing water stress, water scarcity, and absolute scarcity, respectively. 22, 23 Annually in the Arab countries, more than 362 million people have access to less than 1000 cubic meters of freshwater per individual. Knowing the importance of hand hygiene during the pandemic, the water demand is expected to increase by 9 to 12 L per person daily. In this region, more than 74 million people are more susceptible to get infected by COVID-19, because they do not have access to basic handwashing facilities. Seventy million people have interrupted water supply in 10 Arab countries. The Arab region must spend approximately $150-250 million each month to meet the increased domestic water demand. Furthermore, over 87 million people do not have access to drinking water through taps. Some purchase drinking water from private vendors, while others cannot afford this option and have to collect water from public sources (wells and standpipes), which poses a risk of COVID-19 transmission. The latter mainly occurs in informal settlements where they are not connected to water supply networks. Curfews and mobility restrictions can worsen the situation since these people will not be able to access the standpipes, and delivering water through tanker trucks might be interrupted. About 26 million refugees and internally displaced persons lack adequate WASH services, making them vulnerable to COVID-19. Sometimes water supply is intentionally interrupted because of political and military reasons. About 1.8 million Palestinians do not have access to their water resources and need WASH services. In Gaza Strip, the quantity and quality of water are very limited, and only 1 out of 10 has access to safe water.²² It is important to note that due to the economic crisis, increased unemployment rate, and limited financial resources, the default on water bills will be very high. 22, 24 Consequently, fewer resources will be available for operating, managing, and conducting repairs in the water sector.²²

The sources of water bodies' contamination include open defecation by an infected person, infected wastes, infected sewage, untreated wastewater, and infected personal protective equipment (PPE).¹⁹ Excessive usage of disinfectants and disinfection by-products further deteriorate the quality and safety of the water. Noteworthy, more antiviral drugs are being used to treat patients, and when its residues are discharged into the wastewater then to the water bodies, it will have a detrimental effect on the ecosystem. The demand for PPE has increased since the beginning of the pandemic; however, their safe disposal is challenging. It will be dangerous to enter the water bodies since plastics can be transferred to microplastics, an emerging pollutant. Also, it is predicted that over 1.56 billion masks could end up in oceans in 2020, posing a threat to the ecosystem.²⁵

COVID-19 exacerbated the impact of drought and water shortage in countries that are already experiencing climate variation and decrease in rainfall like Ireland, the United Kingdom, Turkey, Ethiopia, Kenya, Syria, Poland, Romania, Kosovo, and India.⁸

2.3. COVID-19 and water availability

Overusing water during handwashing and keeping the tap on will pose excess pressure on the water sector. A study in Bangladesh measured the consumption of water per person while handwashing. It showed that keeping the tap on while handwashing led to the overuse of 1.7 L of water per handwash and 14.9 L of water per day. During the pandemic, hand washing while keeping the tap on led to 13-fold overuse of water in Bangladesh. Compared to the prepandemic situation, each participant used 12.8 times more water per day during the pandemic. It was concluded that keeping the tap on while handwashing will account for 1179% of water loss during this public health emergency.²⁶

In low- and middle-income countries, where water scarcity is a critical problem and more than a billion live in informal settlements, people might prioritize using water for activities other than hand hygiene. Some households tend to store large quantities of water, which leads to viral and bacterial illnesses if it was not properly stored. Water sharing between neighbors might increase to cope with the situation, thus increasing the risk of getting infected due to physical contact. Some people who do not have enough time to wait for hours to collect water or for other reasons might use water from nearby surface water or water tanker with low quality and high prices. Some might seek another place to live where water is more available, increasing the risk of COVID-19 transmission to the new destination.¹⁶

As this pandemic evolves worldwide, some countries might increase local food production since food-producing countries reduced their food exports. In this way, the already scarce water resources will shift toward the agriculture sector. As a result, more water will be pumped from surface and groundwater resources to meet the demand of the domestic and agriculture sectors leading to water stress.²² Thus water insecurity will contribute to food insecurity.¹⁶

2.4. Effect of COVID-19 lockdown on water quantity and quality

Locking down cities and shutting down businesses increased the domestic water demand and decreased the nondomestic (i.e., industrial, commercial, public, and institutional) demand.²⁴ Domestic water refers to water provided for houses and apartments. The industrial category refers to factories and industrial parks. The commercial category includes malls, stores, restaurants, hotels, and others. General category means healthcare and governmental facilities, schools, and universities.²⁷ In a survey by Global Water Leaders Group, they estimated an average of 27% decrease in water demand by industries due to the pandemic. Notably, many governments excluded the employees in the water sector from movement restrictions policies to maintain service continuity. Nevertheless, disruptions in logistics and supply chains were reported.³

Lockdown contributed to the increased domestic water demand since people had to stay home, and handwashing is considered one of the most important measures to prevent infection by the coronavirus.¹⁵ For example, some municipalities in India (e.g., Kozhikode and Ahmedabad) reported up to 25% increase in domestic water usage. Similar results were reported in Joinville city in Brazil, where residential buildings consumed more water than the public buildings and industries (comparing periods before and after the lockdown).¹⁵ This might be due to excess water flow from the tap while handwashing.²⁶

The effect of change in water demand depends on the relative proportion of domestic and nondomestic water use and how much each nondomestic sector contributes to the economy, which usually varies between countries. Concerning nondomestic water demand, some sectors were more affected than others.²⁴ For the majority of the water utilities, there was a drop in the revenues due to a decrease in the total water use²⁴ (mainly by industries and commercial centers³). The change in water demand affected the expenditure and revenue of utilities, water bills, water quality in the buildings, and conditions for using water and wastewater. It is important to note that these effects are short term, and after few months, in some areas, the water demand will go back to the normal conditions (pre-COVID-19 levels).²⁴

In the Malaysian river, the water quality index had improved during the lockdown.²⁸ In India, during the COVID-19 lockdown, many industries were closed from March to September 2020, which led to the short-term improvement of the water quality and quantity in many rivers.¹⁵ The transformation in water quality is expected to go back to its normal condition after businesses reopen.²⁹ Also, in the same period, the excess rainfall increased the discharge that increased the volume of the water flow in rivers and increased the dilution of the pollutants. 15, 30 However, no significant water quality improvement was reported in some rivers where most of the pollution comes from domestic sewage rather than industrial effluents. This ensures the importance of treating the industrial and domestic wastewater before discharging it to the rivers.¹⁵ Moreover, industries located near rivers should abide by the environmental guidelines.³¹

Suspending some agricultural activities during the lockdown led to less water used in irrigation and an increase in the average river discharge and water quantity in reservoirs. For example, in the first 3 months of lockdown in India, the status of the stored water in 123 reservoirs was 159% more than the last 10 years' average storage in the same duration.¹⁵

During the lockdown, electricity demand in some countries decreased, so less water was consumed for electricity generation. Therefore to reduce the pressure on the water resources, it will be better to shift toward less water-intensive technology for generating electricity.³²

During COVID-19 lockdown, many private and public buildings will close for a few weeks or months. This means that there will be limited or no water flow in these premises, leading to water stagnation in the building plumbing. Thus the quality of the water will decrease as mold, Legionella bacteria (that causes Legionnaires' disease), or microbial pathogens grow because of corrosion, chlorine decay, or harmful metals leaching from the pipes. When premises open again, the deterioration of water quality due to chemical and microbiological contaminants will pose public health risk. 13, 24, 25 Several measures can be undertaken to minimize the risks within these premises before reoccupancy, including testing the water quality to ensure that it meets the national standards. 13, 24

Table 1 presents the change in demand for domestic and nondomestic water in some cities during the lockdown, and Fig. 1 summarizes the effect of COVID-19 lockdown on water.

Table 1.

City/country

Increase in domestic water demand (%)

Decrease in nondomestic water demand (%)

References

Fig. 1.

Effect of COVID-19 lockdown on water. 3, 8, 13, 15, 17, 22, 24, 25, 28

2.5. COVID-19 and water bills

Major revenue loss is predicted in the water supply chain. During the pandemic, governments took different measures to ensure water services continuity among low-income customers and vulnerable groups. It included, but is not limited to, suspending meter reading and invoicing, moratoriums on cutting off water services, postponing or exempting paying bills, or donating water tanks. All these measures contributed to revenue losses in the water sector. Global Water Leaders Group expects an average of 15% revenue reduction in water and wastewater utilities.³

Moratoriums are not a sustainable option, and many water utilities cannot financially afford them. After a short period of time when lifting moratoriums, plans should be in place to prevent the vulnerable members from being disconnected from water. Therefore water utilities can eliminate late fees and expand repayment options to ease the burden on those facing financial hardships.³³

Some utilities benefit from the revenue that is gained by selling water to businesses in order to subsidize the household water cost. However, this was greatly impacted in the pandemic, affecting the ability to continue providing affordable water for consumers.²⁴

After COVID-19 spread worldwide, all countries introduced new policies to respond to this pandemic; however, little attention was given to the water sector. Only 11 out of 27 European countries implemented short-term policy interventions regarding the water sector, focusing mainly on the payment of water bills. Thus there was absence of major intervention and change in the water sector. This sector faced interruption in operations due to labor cost, absenteeism, inability to buy PPE for all the workers, and shortage of chemicals necessary for treating water.⁸

3. Effect of COVID-19 on sanitation

Abdominal pain, vomiting, and diarrhea are among the gastrointestinal symptoms of SARS-CoV-2.³⁴ SARS-CoV-2 is excreted via the gastrointestinal tract of COVID-19 patients into the wastewater. 18, 35 It can be present in an infected person's feces, urine, or vomit. 25, 36 Even after the nasopharyngeal samples tested negative for COVID-19-infected patients, SARS-CoV-2 RNA was still detected in their feces for days, suggesting that the virus might be replicating in the gastrointestinal tract.³⁵ SARS-CoV-2 was detected in raw (untreated) wastewater in Netherlands, Italy, the United States of America, France, Australia, Spain, 35, 37 and Iran.¹⁸ In addition, a study done in Iran reported the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in raw and treated wastewater.¹⁸

One of the pathways of SARS-CoV transmission was fecal-oral, and SARS-CoV-2 is genetically similar to it.¹⁹ SARS-CoV-2 RNA was detected in fecal and urine samples in several studies. These samples were either collected from wastewaters of the affected community or directly from COVID-19 patients. For these reasons, SARS-CoV-2 might be transmitted via the fecal-oral route. Although there is no reported case of fecal-oral transmission of COVID-19, studies show that it is possible mainly in areas with poor wastewater management. 18, 19, 35 The pandemic hotspots were identified in crowded areas (i.e., large population density and informal settlements), mainly with limited waste management and sanitation services like in Cairo and Mumbai.³ It is important to point out that the majority of the studies about detecting SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater were conducted in developed countries.¹⁹

Viral RNA was also detected in Monterrey's surface water and groundwater samples during a SARS-CoV-2 peak phase. Leaked sewage system or contaminated surface water by sewage might be the possible routes that led to the groundwater contamination.³⁸ Fig. 2 summarizes the possible sources of surface water contamination with SARS-CoV-2.

Fig. 2.

Possible sources of surface water contamination with SARS-CoV-2. 13, 18, 19, 22, 25, 29, 35, 36, 38, 39

An increase in the water demand means consumption of more water with soap or disinfectants, which in return decreases the quality and increases the quantity of wastewater. Thus it requires additional costs to increase capacities for the drainage structures and treatment facilities to safely collect and treat the large quantity of wastewater before being discharged and reused. 17, 22 This is challenging in areas with limited wastewater treatment, thus increasing the risk of polluting the surface water that might permeate into the groundwater. The same applies to hazardous medical equipment that is not safely disposed of. Therefore the collected wastewater from areas having COVID-19 patients should be appropriately treated rather than only filtered and discharged into the environment.²²

One of the studies concluded that using UV for wastewater disinfection is more effective than chlorine. Also, for effective chlorine disinfection, the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) operators should ensure that the free residual chlorine complies with the international standards at specific conditions.¹⁸

Available evidence ensures that wastewater monitoring for the virus can help determine the total number of COVID-19 symptomatic and asymptomatic cases in the community.⁴⁰ Studies showed a relation between SARS-CoV-2 RNA concentrations in wastewater and the number of reported COVID-19 cases. Also, concentrations of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater can give information about the COVID-19 cases few days (4 to 7 days) ahead of the results of the COVID-19 clinically confirmed cases. Environmental surveillance for SARS-CoV-2 was used in several developed countries.³⁷ Effective surveillance can be applied when populations are connected to WWTPs to identify the infection hotspots.⁴⁰ However, this is very challenging where populations are not connected to sewers; rather, they use septic systems, pit toilets, 19, 37 or open drains, which is the case in many developing countries.⁴⁰ In this situation, testing surface water for sewage contamination is one of the options. Environmental surveillance for SARS-CoV-2 can be used for early warning, detection in areas with limited clinical surveillance capacities and limited access to health facilities, and detection of SARS-CoV-2 from animal sources.³⁷ Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) is an effective surveillance tool for monitoring the virus circulation in the community.¹⁸ It has been applied in several countries and used as an early warning since it can identify the extent of virus spread in the community. The WBE functions by collecting wastewater samples from WWTPs and detecting the presence of viral RNA in order to determine whether the infection rate is increasing or decreasing.¹⁵ Nevertheless, cost-benefit analysis for investing in environmental surveillance versus strengthening WASH and essential surveillance activities should be done, especially in developing countries.³⁷

During the pandemic, using treated or untreated wastewater in irrigation will pose public health threat¹⁸ and increase the possibility of foodborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2.⁴¹ To provide reliable data about SARS-CoV-2 transmission, the physical and chemical properties of the wastewater should be studied. Moreover, operation and maintenance standards in WWTPs should be met to prevent the wastewater from contributing to disease transmission.¹⁸ While the wastewater is transported to the WWTP, airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2 might occur.¹⁹ Aerosolization might occur not only in WWTPs but also in flushing at homes.⁴⁰

WHO recommends sanitation workers to follow standard operating procedures at the workplace that include wearing PPEs, following COVID-19 general mitigation measures, minimizing spills, getting the vaccines for diseases related to sanitation, and self-monitoring for infectious disease symptoms. These people, as well as those promoting hygiene in the community, should be allowed to resume their work during the lockdown and movement restrictions since they are providing extremely important services.¹³

4. Sustainable development goal 6 in the context of COVID-19 pandemic

The impact of COVID-19 on sustainable development goal (SDG) 6 (clean water and sanitation) and the possibility of achieving this goal by 2030 need to be studied in depth.¹⁵ From the positive side, governments are now more than ever aware of the importance of providing clean water for all, and they are trying their best to do so based on the recommendations for combatting the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, this has driven many international organizations to assist less developed countries in increasing water access.¹⁵ The global water demand, before the pandemic, was mainly for the agricultural sector (70%) and other sectors like domestic use and industries (30%). However, the pandemic shifted the water demand and supply patterns for hygiene and protecting human health. Therefore there might be a higher possibility for achieving the SDGs.¹⁵ Also, water directly affects the cities' resilience and sustainability⁴² and SDG 11 (sustainable cities and communities) focuses on the importance of having resilient and sustainable cities and human settlements.⁴³

On the other side, the Sustainable Development Goals Report 2020 mentions that achieving SDGs is challenging in the COVID-19 pandemic.⁴⁴ Knowing that a quarter of the people worldwide do not have a reliable water supply shows that SDG 6 is far from being achieved by 2030.³ COVID-19 pandemic led to an economic crisis and high rates of unemployment that will affect SDG 1 (no poverty), SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), and SDG 3 (public health) that will definitely affect governments' actions regarding SDG 6.¹⁵ The pandemic will slow down the progress in this goal since water utilities are facing losses in revenues which hinder their ability to do further capital investments. Lower investments in the water sector are expected globally.³ In some countries, there is a 61% funding gap that hinders them from achieving SDG 6.⁴⁵

While meeting the water demands, it is also vital to secure the irrigation. The indirect effect of COVID-19 that countries should be aware of is food insecurity. Due to lockdown and physical distancing protocols, many workers will not be able to participate in harvesting, which might, in the worst scenario, contribute to famine. In this way, SDG 2 will be severely impacted. Thus authorities should ensure the stability of the food system and prevent the disruption of the agricultural supply chain.⁴²

5. Lessons learned regarding water and COVID-19

According to WHO, handwashing facilities should be present everywhere, such as in front of public buildings, toilets, and transport stations, to ensure access for all. These facilities should be functioning and have soaps, not necessarily the antibacterial one since the normal soap is enough to inactivate the enveloped viruses.¹³

It is the time to ensure good governance, invest in the water sector, build capacities, address the most vulnerable groups, and focus more on research. If we did not increase the resiliency in water and sanitation, we would always be vulnerable to another pandemic.⁴⁹

6. Limitations

7. Conclusion

Water has a pivotal role in combatting COVID-19 and achieving sustainable development. COVID-19 dramatically affected the water sector, and the improper management of water will lead to the spread of this disease. This vicious cycle will only stop if strict measures were set. Investing in the water sector and ensuring all have access to safe water and sanitation is no longer an option; rather, it is fundamental for survival. Fig. 3 summarizes the challenges in finance, research, and water and sanitation services that were highlighted during the pandemic and should be tackled in the future to end up with resilient communities.

Fig. 3.

Challenges highlighted during COVID-19 pandemic. 3, 7, 8, 15, 19, 20, 21, 22, 24, 26, 49, 51

References

Articles from COVID-19 and the Sustainable Development Goals are provided here courtesy of Elsevier

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Effects of COVID-19 on the availability of clean water and sanitation

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the availability and consumption of safe water reached alarming levels. Millions of people still lack access to basic water and sanitation services, and their number is expected to increase, thus increasing the risk of ...

# data[].attributes.body
I think I want to research Clean Water and Sanitation which must be addressed to reach SDG #6. I will focus on Africa as a whole (mainly the horn of Africa) as well as Southern Asia. I will also focus on the solutions that people had to combat this problem

# data[].attributes.body
This article lists around 7 popular ways to combat clean water shortages and produce cleaner water to communities in need using technology/

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7 Advanced Technologies To End The Clean Water Crisis

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Water is essential to human life — so much so that the United Nations suggests clean water access is a fundamental human right. The ultimate goal is for all countries to provide clean water to their citizens. Unfortunately, billions of people every year lack access to clean water, sanitation, and hygiene.

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This article shows 13 reasons why Africa's water situation is extremely grave. It lists things like how Africa is a dry continent, how climate change affects them etc.

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Water woes: 13 undeniable facts about Africa’s water scarcity - Greenpeace Africa

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The theme for this year’s World Water Day is “Water for Peace”, a call to end disputes and violence relating to water. Attaining peace means ensuring equal access to safe…

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This article shows the drastic contrast from northern Asia with countries like Japan and China having the world's most cleanest water but once you go down south to countries like India, it is drastically different

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South Asia’s Water Problem is a Climate Change Issue

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
South Asia is facing many impacts and cascading risks from climate change. Rising heat, shifting monsoon patterns, unpredictable weather, and longer periods of drought are just a few examples. The recent heat waves in the spring and summer of 2022 were some of the region’s most extreme in the last several years. Pakistan is currently […]

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This article shows how the different countries of Europe battle with clean water. It also explains how Europe views this as a basic human right and what they have done to try and solve said problem.

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What Are the Effects of not having Clean Water?

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What Are the Effects of not having Clean Water?

# data[].attributes.body
Some long term effects of not having clean water are deadly diseases like cholera, typhoid, and diarrhea. These can also lead to the need for healthcare which in turn drives up the cost for healthcare and medicine to treat these diseases. On top of that in many countries girls and women are the ones who normally go out to look for water. If there is a shortage of actual clean drinking water it means these women and girls would have to travel extremely far to find any. This can be taxing for them.

# data[].attributes.body
Why is it that some countries has access to clean water and other countries either have trouble accessing it or don't have it at all?

# data[].attributes.body
I was wondering that since we can already see how bad it is when people don't have enough clean water what would it look if people did.

# data[].attributes.headline
What would the world look like if everyone had access to Clean water and Sanitation?

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What would the world look like if everyone had access to Clean water and Sanitation?

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In this article it talks about what the world could look like if everyone had their fair share of clean water. According to the article if such an achievement were to occur it would show how diseases like cholera would decrease significantly and how people might even grow resistant to such waterborne diseases. Populations would flourish and billions of money wouldn't be spent on people trying to get medicine.

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What If Everyone on Earth Had Easy Access to Clean Water?

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Would a world with ample water for all mean less disease? Fewer wars? Globally improved health and finances? Sip along with us as we wonder what if.

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Why do countries in the same region have completely different access to clean water? Why should one region have better water and another worse?

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Africa's battle with clean water isn't that its just not clean. It's not enough. The small amount that they do have also isn't clean nor reliable. Climate Change is the leading cause for this as well as the fact that Africa is an extremely hot continent and so are its countries. There is also the mismanagement of their water by their governments as well.

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Water scarcity is when people cannot access enough water to meet their needs for clean and safe water to drink, use for hygiene, and for sanitation. When a community does not have enough water, deadly diseases can spread throughout the population:

Hand-washing is crucial for helping to prevent the spread of Covid and other infectious diseases. When there is not enough water for people to adequately wash their hands, diseases can spread more rapidly.

When there is a lack of sanitation, contaminated drinking water can spread deadly infectious diseases, including cholera, diarrhea, dysentery, and polio. More than 800,000 children under the age of five, mostly from developing countries, die each year from diarrhea.

When people have to travel a long way to obtain clean water, they may store it in their homes. Standing water attracts mosquitoes, which can carry malaria and other serious diseases.

Water scarcity occurs because there is not enough water in the environment to begin with, or it is not properly managed and distributed, or both. Some water scarcity is caused by climate and environmental changes. A prolonged lack of rain can cause severe droughts. Deserts can expand. Lakes and rivers can shrink or dry up completely.

Even if a country or region has enough water as a natural resource, the people who live there may still not have access to enough water for their basic needs because of mismanagement.

Examples of mismanagement include:

Poor government management of water resources

Depletion of water resources because of pollution or destruction of forests

Not enough investment in protecting and developing water resources

Lack of adequate water distribution systems

Collapsing infrastructure

Wars and other violent conflicts

Water contamination

When safe water is not available nearby, the burden usually falls on women and children to walk long distances to collect it and carry it back. This time-consuming and exhausting task interferes with children's ability to go to school and women's ability to spend time with their families or work in jobs which would bring in much-needed income.

How Does Water Scarcity Affect Africa?

Several factors have come together to create a water scarcity crisis in Africa: climate change, a growing population, increasing urbanization, and more water being used for household and industrial purposes. According to the World Health Organization, water scarcity affects one out of three people in the African region.

Africa is experiencing severe droughts. Weather patterns are changing, and rivers and lakes that previously provided plentiful supplies of water are drying up. People are having to travel increasingly long distances to access the safe water that they need to survive.

The Horn of Africa, including Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia, is experiencing the worst drought the region has seen in 40 years after four years in a row of lower than normal rainfall. The drought has devastated agriculture in the region, causing extreme food shortages.

Without enough water, millions of livestock animals have died, and harvests have failed. This has caused the cost of food to skyrocket, making it too expensive for many to afford. About 7 million children in the region are malnourished, and 1.5 million people have been displaced.

The effects of water scarcity in Africa extend beyond the people who are most directly affected. Agriculture is a major part of the economy in all African countries. When water scarcity impacts agricultural production, that endangers the livelihood of many people, which, in turn, has a ripple effect on the economy as a whole.

Unfortunately, the problem of water scarcity in Africa is likely to get worse. By as soon as 2025, nearly 230 million people in Africa are expected to be experiencing water scarcity. As many as 460 million may be living in areas where water access is under stress.

How Can We Address Water Scarcity in Africa?

Addressing the problem of water scarcity in Africa will require a multi-pronged approach, including emergency assistance for people who have been displaced from their homes, and long-term solutions that will provide sustainable sources of water for at-risk communities.

The water purification systems that Healing Waters International provides communities in Africa and throughout the world address people's immediate needs for clean and safe water as well as giving them a sustainable source of safe water for the future. These systems are custom designed for the needs of each community.

Healing Waters International has many water purification projects throughout Africa that bring safe and clean water to communities suffering from water scarcity. These include:

A water purification system in Embakasi, Kenya, that has been providing safe water and jobs to the community since 2015.

Eight sustainable water purification systems in or near urban areas in Rwanda that are owned and operated by local people. These have been providing clean water, jobs, and sustainable income for area residents since 2013.

A water filtration system in Sierra Leone that provides water to the people in the community as well as to a health clinic that serves 7,000 people annually. This project has been improving the quality of health care since 2013.

Six much-needed water purification systems in Somalia, which is one of the poorest countries in the world and is currently suffering from the severe drought that has devastated the Horn of Africa countries. These systems have been helping to reduce the amount of water-borne illnesses since 2013.

Clean water programs located throughout Uganda since 2013. Many use solar power, making it possible to place the systems in sites that do not have stable power supplies.

Healing Waters International is on a mission to end the suffering caused by water scarcity in Africa and throughout the world. We provide sustainable sources of clean and safe water that transform life in vulnerable communities.

Will you join us in our mission to help people not only survive but thrive physically, socially, and spiritually? We need you! Your contribution helps us to bring more of our life-giving water purification systems to people who are living in areas of water scarcity. Please donate today!

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What is Causing Water Scarcity in Africa? | Healing Waters

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When a community does not have enough water, deadly diseases can spread throughout the population. Read on to learn what Is causing water scarcity in Africa!