The amount of fresh water on the planet is constant, and yet the demand for this water is continually growing, thus leading to the inevitably increasing scarcity of clean drinking water worldwide (Barzilay, 1999 and Abdel-Shafy, 2005). Clean drinking water is important because even very small amounts of contaminants can accumulate over a lifetime and lead to serious health problems (Barzilay, 3 3 Drinking Water in Egypt 1999). Some of the diseases and conditions that have been linked to drinking water supplies include heavy metal poisoning, cancer, and bacterial and viral infections. Medical professionals interviewed also mentioned schistosomiosis as one of the most widespread water-related diseases in Egypt. The disease is transmitted through physical contact with water. Farmers are often the most affected population of Egyptian society because, as Dr. Hashem explains, they pick up the infection from irrigation water used in agriculture.
Also of particular concern in Egypt are lead poisoning and microbiological diseases (Hopkins and Mehanna, 2003). In their research, Hopkins and Mehanna (2003) found that “respondents seemed largely unaware of lead pollution, though it is considered by experts to pose a serious environmental threat in Cairo” (p.22). In Egypt, 98% of all drinking water comes from the Nile River (Hopkins, 1992). Relying on a single source for so much of a country’s water supply can make the task of tracing the effects of various activities on the drinking water supply somewhat easier and more transparent. Nevertheless, the factors that contribute to the health of the Nile River and, by extension, to drinking water in Egypt are perhaps innumerable and could include many historical, political and scientific factors
Infectious diarrhoea is mainly responsible for the burden caused by water-borne and water-washed diseases. From the health perspective, improving access to safe water supply and sanitation services is a preventive intervention, whose main outcome is a reduction in the number of episodes of diarrhoea and accordingly a proportionate reduction in the number of deaths. Based on published reviews, large surveys and a Country studies, this analysis estimated the health benefits of improving access to safe water . Health impacts of such improvements depend on the existing levels of water supply and sanitation access and the region-specific levels of morbidity and mortality due to diarrhoeal diseases. Health impacts would be greater in regions where the number of unserved is high which is mainly the villages in Egypt and where the diarrhoeal disease burden is significant .
Below is a list of the water related diseases Egyptians are suffering from ;
Protozoal infections
Disease and Transmission
Amoebiasis (hand-to-mouth)
Cryptosporidiosis (oral)
Cyclosporiasis
Giardiasis (fecal-oral) (hand-to-mouth)
Microsporidiosis
Parasitic infections (Kingdom Animalia)
Disease and species
Schistosomiasis (immersion)
Dracunculiasis (Guinea Worm Disease)
Taeniasis
Fasciolopsiasis
Hymenolepiasis (Dwarf Tapeworm Infection)
Echinococcosis (Hydatid disease)
coenurosis
Ascariasis
Enterobiasis
Bacterial infections
Disease and Transmission
Botulism
Campylobacteriosis
Cholera
E. coli Infection
M. marinum infection
Dysentery
Legionellosis (two distinct forms: Legionnaires' disease and Pontiac fever)
Leptospirosis
Otitis Externa (swimmer's ear)
Salmonellosis
Typhoid fever
Vibrio Illness
Viral infections
Disease and Transmission
SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)
Hepatitis A
Poliomyelitis (Polio)
Polyomavirus infection
Thus, achieving target for water supply only, would lead to a reduction of episodes of diarrhoea of up to 10% in the poorest regions (ranging from 0% to 14% depending on the region )
poor access to safe water and adequate sanitation continues to be a threat to human health, Death rate: 4.8 deaths/1,000 population (July 2012 est) to be attributable to unsafe water and sanitation, including lack of hygiene; 90% of this burden is concentrated on children under five, mostly in developing countries. In spite of the considerable investment in the provision of water supply and sanitation in the 1980s and 1990s, in 2000 a significant proportion of the world’s population remained without access: an estimated 1.1 billion people were without access to improved water sources and 2.4 billion people lacked access to improved sanitation. Expanding this access is essential to reduce the burden of water-related diseases and to improve the well-being of a large part of the world's population. It is also a vital input into economic development and poverty alleviation .
Evaluating the health and the socio-economic benefits of safe water and adequate sanitation results in a compelling argument in support of further resource allocations to improving access. Therefore, assessing the costs, the health benefits and the additional benefits of improving access to safe water supply and sanitation helps to support rational and informed decision-making, for resource allocation. Among the many possible and valid criteria, the ratio of economic costs and benefits of different intervention options is critically important .
Based on the present analysis, achieving the water and sanitation MDG target would definitely bring economic benefits, ranging from US$3 to US$34 per US$ invested, depending on the region. Additional improvement of drinking-water quality, such as point-of-use disinfection, in addition to access to improved water and sanitation would lead to a benefit ranging from US$5 to US$60 per US$ invested .
From a health point of view, achieving the water and sanitation NDG" national development Goal) target, by using simple technologies, would lead to a national average reduction of 10% of episodes of diarrhoea. Choosing more advanced types of technologies such as provision of regulated in-house piped water would lead to massive overall health gains, but it is also the most expensive intervention. The burden of disease associated with lack of access to safe water supply, adequate sanitation and lack of hygiene is concentrated on children under five in Egypt " It is estimated that each year about 17,000 children die from diarrhea" .
Accordingly, emphasis should be placed on interventions likely to yield an accelerated, affordable and sustainable health gain amongst this group. The present analysis points to household water treatment and safe storage as one option of particular potential. This intervention results in high health improvements while incremental costs remain low compared to other types of interventions..
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