GARDEN ROUTENEWS - The effects of the novel Covid-19 pandemic are sending shock waves through the world, and in South Africa, many of these effects, mostly construed through the intense lockdown, hint at our weaknesses and what the changing climate will force upon us.
This is according Cobus Meiring of the Garden Route Environmental Forum (Gref).
As a part of a series of ongoing debates with key stakeholders, Gref interviewed Dr Jo Barnes, an esteemed epidemiologist and community health expert at Stellenbosch University, on the importance of water in the context of community health and how water may well become a vector for more diseases if drastic measures are not taken.
Says Barnes, "The pandemic is the single most destructive health event for more than a century. As the outbreak carries on spreading, the role of water in combatting the virus becomes more and more critical".
Handwashing with soap, when done correctly, is critical in the fight against the disease. However, a significant segment of the South African population has no consistent access to safe water.
"Water tanks are to be made available to many communities to bring water closer to people's homes, but no mention is made of the provision of soap. Rinsing hands without proper washing with soap is basically a waste of water and offers little protection, since water alone does not dislodge more than a small number of the virus particles," says Barnes.
She also raises concerns about the number of water tanks installed in communities.
"Research on other strains of coronavirus indicates that the virus can survive up to 12 days in room temperature tap water, two to three days in room temperature wastewater, and much longer in both at cooler temperatures."
"One of the most urgent weaknesses brought into sharp focus by this pandemic is the lack of sufficient progress in the provision of safe access to water and sanitation. When the outbreak has been brought under some sort of control, we must reprioritise our activities to pay far more attention to basic human needs. This is not negotiable."
According to the World Economic Forum, 47% of the world population is going to experience water scarcity by 2030. Desertification is on the increase everywhere in the world. In Africa, almost 70% of the continent is arid or semi-arid. If no measures are taken, water scarcity, exacerbated by climate change, is expected to cost some regions up to 6% of their economic growth.
In March this year, World Water Day focused on the interconnectedness of water and climate change. According to the World Economic Forum, water is the primary resource affected by climate change, with repercussions on the supply of drinking water, sanitation, and water used for food and energy production. In other words, as suggested by climate-change experts, "If climate change is a shark, then water is its teeth".
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