As the United Nations World Water Day (22 March) approaches, one in seven people in the WHO European Region does not have access to safe water. WHO and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UN/ECE) are tackling the crisis in water and health, and months of negotiation with European governments have produced a legally binding protocol to combat water-related disease. It will be put before environment and health ministers in London in June.
Cholera, typhoid fever and hepatitis A are water-related diseases often associated with developing countries or perhaps medieval Europe. Yet at the dawn of the third millennium, these diseases are making a comeback in some European countries. In Albania, for example, 25 people died of cholera in 1994 after drinking contaminated water. In Latvia, several hundred cases of hepatitis A and bacterial dysentery are attributed to contaminated drinking-water each year. In Tajikistan, some 4000 cases of typhoid fever were reported in 1996 following heavy rainfall. In the past decade there have been some 190 outbreaks of bacterial dysentery, 70 outbreaks of hepatitis A and 45 outbreaks of typhoid fever associated with drinking-water and recreational water in Europe and central Asia.
These are only the best known water-related diseases. Others, which are even more widespread, are hitting even countries otherwise known for their high level of sanitation. In Sweden in the past decade, for example, there have been six outbreaks of waterborne campylobacteriosis, which causes gastroenteritis. In fact, a total of 27 000 people suffered from waterborne disease in Sweden in those ten years. During the same period, the United Kingdom reported 13 outbreaks of cryptosporidiosis, which also causes gastroenteritis and can usually be traced back to agricultural pollution. "Yet this is only the tip of the proverbial iceberg, as data related to waterborne diseases are often not reported as such," stresses Kaj Bärlund, Director of the Environment and Human Settlements Division of UN/ECE. "Access to safe drinking-water cannot be taken for granted, especially not in eastern Europe."
Most public water supplies are routinely monitored, but private supplies may not be subject to the same quality standards. In the Russian Federation, half the population uses water that fails to meet quality standards. In Latvia, 55% of water samples from shallow wells fail to meet microbiological standards. Yet half the rural population relies on these wells as a source of drinking-water. Some 50% of Armenian supplies also fail to meet quality standards. Even in countries where most residents are connected to a water supply network, there may be frequent interruptions in supply. In southern Russia, water may be available for only a few hours a day. In Romania, some supply systems do not function for more than 12 hours a day. Around 30% of Italy’s islanders also suffer interruptions in their water supply. Apart from contamination with microbes and viruses, water may also be polluted with lead, arsenic, fluorides or nitrates. Agriculture also affects water quality through run-off containing pesticides and fertilizers.
"If we persist with intensive agriculture, industrialization and overexploitation of our water resources, it will become increasingly difficult to ensure a supply of safe water in many parts of Europe, including a number of big cities," warns Günter Klein, Director, Environment and Health at WHO’s Regional Office for Europe. "It is high time countries committed themselves to protecting the health of their inhabitants by working together with all the sectors. Safe water is one of the vital sources of good health, and intersectoral collaboration and partnership is essential, both within and among European Member States. This will be a prerequisite for sustainable development and harmonization in the European Region and this protocol will be a helpful tool for achieving health for all in the 21st century."
The Protocol on Water and Health of the UN/ECE Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes should help countries to reduce such outbreaks by providing safe drinking-water and recreational water to people throughout Europe. The Protocol has been drawn up under the auspices of UN/ECE and the WHO Regional Office for Europe. Its ultimate aim is to reduce, control and prevent water-related disease. It is expected to be signed at the Third Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health in London on 16–18 June.
This press release has been issued jointly with UN/ECE.
Full draft text of the Protocol, together with the background documents and details of the Third Ministerial Conference, can be found on www.who.dk/London99.
For more information, contact:
Mr Kaj Bärlund, Director
UN/ECE Environment and Human Settlements Division
Palais des Nations, office 334
CH - 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
Tel: +41 22 917 23 70,
Fax: +41 22 907 01 07
E-mail: kaj.barlund@unece.org
or:
Dr Günter Klein, Director
Environment and Health WHO Regional Office for Europe
8, Scherfigsvej, DK-2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
Tel: +45 39171346,
Fax: +45 39171878
E-mail: gkl@who.dk
Franklin Apfel, Viv Taylor Gee or Annette Andkjaer
Communication and Public Affairs WHO Regional Office for Europe
Scherfigsvej 8, DK-2100 Copenhagen Ø, Denmark
Tel.: +45 39 17 13 36 or +45 39 17 13 44
Fax: +45 39 17 18 80
or ana@who.dk
