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Key facts and figures on water quality and health (2010)

Guideline for  

 drinking water  ​     quality

Water for Life.

Access to water and sanitation is a fundamental human right and essential to life, health and dignity according to United Nations. UN believes that all should have access to adequate and safe drinking water and provision of adequate sanitation services is equally important.

Water and Health Sanitation

United Nations believes that the optimum benefit from water and sanitation interventions can only be achieved if communities and individuals are made aware of the links between hygiene practices, poor sanitation, polluted water sources and diseases.



The World Health Organization published a guideline for drinking water quality as part of its activities on drinking-water and health. Providing an evidence-based point of departure for standard setting and regulation as a basis for health protection. They include an assessment of the health risks presented by the various microbial, chemical, radiological and physical constituents that may be present in drinking-water.

The global health challenge: preventing water quality-related disease

  • No safe drinking-water: almost 1 billion people lack access to an improved supply
  • Diarrhoeal disease: 2 million annual deaths attributable to unsafe water, sanitation and hygiene
  • Cholera: more than 50 countries still report cholera to WHO
  • Cancer and tooth/skeletal damage: millions exposed to unsafe levels of naturally-occurring arsenic and fluoride

 

Fifty dead rivers have been declared ecologically dead by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in 2008. Former DENR Secretary Lito Atienza said in an interview "History tells us that rivers have played an important role in the country's economic growth. Yet, we have disregarded this and continue to dirty our rivers and lakes by turning them into giant septic tanks and trash bins.”


 

In the Philippines chemical pollution is taking its toll on our limited supply of fresh water, according to Greenpeace Movement. And if we do not make necessary actions to what is happening with our fresh water sources, water scarcity crisis could be inevitable.

 

50 Dead Rivers

State of freshwater sources in the Philippines

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