Dajah Ponder: Global Health

    On this week’s blog, I will be focusing on a country located in southern Africa known as Zimbabwe, which joined the United Nations on August 25, 1980. Access to safe water and sanitation has been a reoccurring issue in Zimbabwe, especially for those living in rural areas. Zimbabwe is home to about 14 million people, but the majority of the population does not have access to clean water or proper sanitation. According to UNICEF, it has been reported that only 35% of Zimbabwe’s population has access to adequate sanitation. Also, it has been reported that 67% of people living in rural Zimbabwe don’t have access to clean water (CARE, n.d.). Inadequate access to clean water and sanitation can increase the vulnerability to waterborne diseases and malnutrition. The sustainable developmental goal of water and sanitation is being implemented through various organizations. However, the UNICEF WASH program and the Swedish Embassy have been working to improve access to clean water and...

  In this week’s blog, I am focusing on a country located in Central America known as Nicaragua. Nicaragua is the largest and one of the poorest countries in Central America and is home to 6.22 million people (Water for People, 2019). The population consists of Spanish and indigenous backgrounds, and most families live off of cash and farming crops. Nicaragua joined the United Nations on October 24, 1945 (UN, 2020). Over the years, Nicaragua’s mountainous location has presented a challenge on the development of infrastructure for a functioning water and sanitation system. Furthermore, access to clean water and sanitation services depends on the urban and rural areas of Nicaragua. For instance, 60% of the population in rural areas have access to basic water services, and 62% of the population in rural areas have access to basic sanitation services (Water for People, 2020). The goal of clean water and sanitation has been implemented through various organizations. This country has m...

Water and Sanitation: Malawi   In this week’s blog, I am focusing on a small, densely populated county in southeastern Africa known as Malawi. This country is one of the poorest countries in the world and is home to 18.62 million people. Furthermore, most of the population still lives below the international poverty line of $1.25 a day (Water for People, 2019). Malawi joined the United Nations on January 12, 1964. Over the years, Malawi has been working together to improve the needs of clean water and sanitation. Around 65% of the population has access to basic water services, and 25% of the population has access to basic sanitation services (Water for People, 2019). Clean water and sanitation is the sixth goal of the sustainable development goals and is being implemented by various organizations. This goal is a priority in the country and has utilized the help of organizations to improve the issue. The Water And Development Alliance (WADA) and Water for People are a few of the m...

       The next country I will be focusing on is the Democratic Republic of Congo, which became a member of the United Nations on September 20, 1960. The Democratic Republic of Congo is the second-largest country in Africa and one of the poorest countries in the world. Congo is endowed with natural resources such as freshwater and mineral deposits; however, water security is low because of political corruption and poor infrastructure. Congo has failed to meet the Millennium Development Goals for water and sanitation, and access is below sub-Saharan regional averages. As a result, this country has a population of more than 80 million people, but 52% of the population has access to safe drinking water, and 29% of the population has access to safe sanitation (Globalwaters, 2017). The lack of access to safe drinking water and sanitation puts people at risk of contracting deadly diseases such as diarrhea and cholera. Some of the key challenges associated with the goal of ...