Water shortage in Somalia
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.
