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Without safe and adequate water, sanitation and hygienic environmental
conditions and practices, the health status of disaster affected
populations are often threatened, leading to increased morbidity
and mortality. Ensuring access to such facilities as soon
as possible post-disaster has proven to save lives, reduce
the threat of disease and assist in restoring dignity to the
target population.
Therefore, the first priority is usually
to ensure a minimum of safe water for drinking and cooking
is available, linked to access to a safe and private place
for excreta disposal. A secondary priority is to provide bathing
and laundry facilities and solid waste disposal to reduce
disease vectors. All of these interventions must have a hygiene
promotion element, to ensure the facilities are used to their
best advantage, and that poor hygiene practices are discouraged.
Less water for people directly affects
their health, if water supply is reduced, clothes cannot be
washed, personal hygiene suffers, cooking utensils cannot
be properly cleaned nor food properly prepared, and there
is not enough water to replace that which the body loses naturally.
Less water results in more skin disease, eye infections, diarrhoeal
diseases and dehydration.
Therefore the human body’s basic
water requirements (dependant upon climate, work-load
and other environmental and cultural factors) may vary between
3-15 litres a day as a minimum standard (SPHERE).
Overall community needs, however, are
not limited only to those of its individual members. The overall
community health and sanitation needs, as
well as water needs for livestock and agriculture - may need
to be taken into account. A recognised priority is water
and sanitation needs for health facilities and supplementary
and therapeutic feeding centres.
Experience has shown that an integrated
approach to Water, Sanitation and Hygiene in post
disaster situations is best, with close linkages to health
interventions to contain and reduce overall morbidity and
mortality. In recent years an increased emphasis
on community participation and awareness raising, especially
in hygiene promotion, is recognised as a critical factor in
disease control and reduction.
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Disaster management
