Introduction
Water
is the most important factor for sustaining life. It’s important for humans,
animals, and even crops. Water shortages are the main reason for many problems
all over the planet. The main cause of water shortage in most countries is
droughts. Drought is an irregularly long period of low or no rainfall and that
is a reason for the drying up of many water wells in many regions. In addition,
statistics show that half of the hospital beds worldwide are occupied by
patients diagnosed with water related diseases, and water and sanitary crises
claim the lives of more people through disease than war does. 2.6 billion people
worldwide live without basic sanitation, 88 percent of the diseases presented by
these people are caused by unsafe water (facts about water and sanitation,
2012). Others statistics recorded worldwide are:
· 1.4
million children die every year as a result of diseases caused by unclean water
and poor sanitation.
· For
children under five, water-related diseases are the leading cause of
death.
· Girls
under the age of 15 are twice as likely as boys of the same age to carry the
responsibility of collecting water.
· Parasitic
infection transmitted through unclean water and poor sanitation hinders the
learning potential for more than 150 million children.
The
shortage of water as well as the lack of sanitation creates a life filled with
difficulties, disease, and low educational opportunities(facts about water and
sanitation, 2012).
Problem
Somalia
is one of the most troubled countries in Africa as it is run by war lords who
exposed the people to a lot of violence and bloodshed. The country of Somalia
has many problems, one of which is a severe water shortage. Water shortage is
the main reason for AWD(acute water diarrhea), a disease which claimed the lives
of 12 people from villages surrounding the capital Mogadishu (Somalia:
water shortage to blame for awd outbreak, 2009).only 29% of the Somali
population has access to safe and clean water. Most of these 29%are forced to
walk about 20 km in order to get to the water, and others have to sell their
belongings in order to be able to buy water(mannak, 2009). In 2011, the voice of
America news agency published an article titled “Somalia: drought brings water
shortages, high food prices”, which discussed the outcomes of the water
shortages and the downside it had on the population. People feared that due to
the water shortage, livestock might start to die in large numbers and that would
cause villagers to move back to the unstable capital in search for food. The U.N
already pays a total of $60 million to meet the food needs of the Somali people,
but if droughts keep occurring then an estimate of more than $150 million will
be needed to meet the food needs of the population(decapua, 2011).on the other
hand, the fear wasn’t only of dying livestock but also of migrating livestock.
Livestock migrated in search of more water in order to survive, lowering the
amount of dairy products available and increasing the levels of malnutrition in
many regions of the country (press
release: Somalia faces severe water crisis as drought looms, 2011).it was not
only the livestock migrating, as droughts were also the main reason for many
people abandoning the villages that surrounded adado town, due to the drying up
of the local wells and bark ads (water pans). The only water available to
remaining villagers was 75 km away, which left them with the sole option of
water trucking, which is considered difficult and expensive for
villagers (Somalia:
galgadud villages abandoned as water shortage bites, 2010).
Solutions
The U.N
along with other humanitarian organizations is already working on finding
solutions to the Somalia water crisis. In solving such crises internationally in
Somalia, foundations shouldn’t only focus on the shortage of water but also on
the proper uses of sanitation of already available water sources. Well-funded
organizations would be able to provide state- of- the- art equipment, that would
secure, purify and distribute water for domestic and agricultural
uses (our
background, 2003). Drilling new water wells in areas that have no water or only
have access to contaminated water, is required in order to provide new water
supplies. In the case of polluted water, the solution would be digging below the
surface of the pollution spill in order to reach uncontaminated water supplies
and then insuring that recontamination does not occur. On the other hand,
reverse osmosis can also be used to purify already polluted water. New
disinfection technologies and new distribution techniques can be used on water
supplies only contaminated with microorganisms(our background, 2003). However
these major organizations that call themselves “humanitarian” will have to spend
millions of dollars in creating such solutions. Keeping in mind that they are
aware that it’s a charity based action and they will not gain anything from it
as a profit. This would then take us back to square one because obviously most
if not all of these “humanitarian” organizations might decline such widespread
activities.
Conclusion
Droughts
are the main reason for water shortage in Somalia, which is one of the main
causes of human suffering. Water shortage causes many more problems than the
unavailability of drinking water, such as the increase in food prices, the
possibility of livestock death and the increase in malnutrition levels. Water is
an essential substance for humans, animal and plants for survival, therefore, a
lot of effort should be concentrated into finding and developing new water
supplies for countries and regions suffering from such a crisis. Most if not all
of Somalia's clean water supplies are running very low and its causing many
villagers to leave their homes and farms to look for new water supplies and
clean wells. They end up going back to their homes because they couldn’t find
anywhere else or the place they found was too expensive for them to
afford. (mannak,
2009)these demographic changes are affecting the traditional farming practices
and causing soil erosion which leads to a lowering of gross domestic
product.
