Coronavirus – a call for water and sanitation for all (continued)

As a continuation of the previous topic, we offer you a translation of the article by Hassan Aboelng, Amgad Elmahdi and Olkay Yunwer, University of Kassel and T.H. Cologne, dated March 26, 2020, which was published on the resource
https://news.trust.org/item/20200326104523-wfz4n?utm_content=buffere4836&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer&fbclid=IwAR0Zq4yRH-CYyNScuiOM2DTrGFy799lD2UEs-4CJgNT6o6TYlNugoc3Q_Ks

Coronavirus has now reached a pandemic stage and continues to spread around the world, and hand washing is the most important component to stop the virus. COVID-19 is a deadly reminder that inclusive water supply and sanitation are important to all of us.

Today, many people lack access to the most basic weapons for protection against COVID-19: water and soap. UN-Water reports that 2.2 billion people worldwide do not have safe drinking water, while 4.2 billion do not have safe sanitation and three billion do not have basic hand sanitizers. In addition, it is estimated that 896 million people use medical facilities without water supply, and 1.5 billion – without medical services.

These conditions are a constant source of stress and disease, especially for vulnerable and marginalized communities, where people sometimes need to skip bathing to save water for cooking.

As the virus moves to low-income and water-poor regions, we are deeply concerned about the future of sustainable development and the impact it may have on vulnerable populations without access to basic water services.

With this in the background, we are unfortunately still trying to solve new problems with old solutions, and our past experience is becoming our worst enemy of mood swings. We are still actively investing in a linear system, the “big pipes and big pipes” transmission model, which aims to protect human health and avoid negative consequences by using large-scale technological solutions for narrowly defined maintenance problems.

Our policy is set without matching goals with the necessary resources. We rely on public funds, which are insufficiently and poorly directed, and new sources of funding for water and sanitation, limited by regulatory, institutional and other barriers. Our ambitious strategies for the provision of water supply and sewerage services are too often hampered when they are not properly taken into account in how and by whom they will be implemented and how they will be financed.

Safe water, sanitation and hygiene, commonly known as the LAW, are crucial to human health and well-being. As the world moved from the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to the Sustainable Development Goals (MDGs) in 2015, governments set the bar for WASH efficiency by moving the target from basic to securely managed services.

The COVID-19 flash taught us the vital importance of access to securely managed WASH services. Increased investment is needed, there must be integrity, including linkages between sectors, including food and agriculture, the environment and public health, and there must be shared benefits and trade-offs.

At a time when the world has recognized the urgent need to significantly accelerate progress towards the MDGs and climate goals, the outbreak of COVID-19 should be an awakening to all of us that the economic and social costs will be catastrophic. For those who say that we cannot afford the enormous effort required to achieve these goals, the idea of human and economic losses caused by a single event can mean and multiply this many times over.

Therefore, a new paradigm is needed that turns this approach on its head and changes the way water and sanitation are managed and financed. It’s not just about money; tackling polluted water and sanitation requires creativity and innovation to turn risks into opportunities by providing appropriate targeted solutions and reducing high levels of wastewater in drinking water and agriculture by providing
strong government leadership and accountability, as well as recognition of the role of communities, recognition of diverse cultures of knowledge and acceptance of the inevitability of uncertainty. The Framework Acceleration for the MDGs № 6, “Water and Sanitation for All”, which brings together the strengths of different stakeholders and is strongly committed to accelerating the MDGs in general, as lessons learned from the COVID-19 crisis, will be an important tool for this.

On April 7, humanity celebrated World Health Day !!! Obviously, the surrounding situation already forces (!) To pay attention to all components of this day!

Health to us all !!!