Access to Healthy Water in Haiti

Access to healthy water is a concept that some people in developed countries take for granted. It is a blessing to be able to get out of bed, walk to kitchen and bathroom faucet, turn a knob and clean water is provided immediately with your preference of temperature. Unfortunately, this is not the case for many residents in Haiti. 46% of Haiti's urban population and 54% of Haiti's rural population have access to a water supply. Sewer systems and wastewater treatment are nonexistent. In rural areas, systems have often fallen into disrepair. They either do not provide any water service at all or provide service only to those close to the source, with those at the end of the system (tail-enders) remaining without water. In almost all urban areas of Haiti, water supply is intermittent. The problem of supplying the metropolitan area of the capital with sufficient clean water and a sewer system remains unresolved. Many privite citizens and some major consumers such as luxury hotels, receive all their water via tanker trucks. This topic is important because children can catch life threatening diseases if they are not able to drink clean water. This issue is relevant to my field of work because home day cares must have clean water, serve nutritious meals, and follow other health protocols.

References

"Water Supply and Sanitation in Haiti" from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia