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Overwhelmed by Public Response, UK Government to Double Pandemic Relief Support
/in Water News/by Circle BlueFollowing an overwhelming response from the British public, the U.K. government will double its support for the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) Coronavirus Appeal, according to a statement today by the International Development Secretary.
The Coronavirus Appeal provides aid to refugees living in overcrowded camps around the world and the U.K. government will match public funding up to £10 million. Over the course of nine days, the public donated £9.8 million. A £25 public donation, along with a match from the government, could purchase essential hygiene kits to two families.
The DEC is a coalition of 14 different U.K. charities. To prevent the spread of the virus, they are providing frontline doctors and workers with proper equipment, supplying food to those who may be malnourished, and distributing clean water and soap to families.
The total pandemic aid now pledged by the U.K. is now £774 million.
Los Alamos National Labs Shut Down Water Monitoring for Months Due to EPA Policy
/in Water News/by Circle BlueIn late March, in the early days of the pandemic, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency allowed facilities to suspend water quality monitoring during the health emergency if virus restrictions impeded the work.
One of the facilities that halted its water monitoring work is Technical Area 54 (TA-54), a contaminated site at Los Alamos National Labs in New Mexico. The site shut down its regularly required water monitoring for almost three months due to the EPA’s Covid-19 policy, according to a Forbes report published today.
The temporary policy, which relaxes environmental enforcement obligations, expires August 31.
One obligation at TA-54 that stopped during this time was the treatment of groundwater for chromium, a toxic heavy metal. Once treated, the clean water is pumped back into the ground. This process began again at TA-54 in July, more than three months after it stopped. Other routine groundwater monitoring started again June 8.
Just over 350 facilities across the nation did not submit water monitoring reports during the EPA’s temporary Covid-19 measures, according to The Hill. Among others, these facilities included fossil fuel companies, water treatment plants, coal mines, and recycling centers.
Harrowing Conditions in Egyptian Prisons See Covid-19 Outbreaks
/in Water News/by Circle BlueHuman Rights Watch released a statement Monday announcing suspected Covid-19 outbreaks in recent weeks in Egyptian prisons and police stations.
Leaked letters, witness accounts, and credible reports from local rights groups and media indicated 129 suspected cases, 64 positive cases, and 14 deaths from Covid-19 complications. Overcrowding, lack of sanitation, and limited resources and medical care have turned these prisons and police stations into a hotbed for the pandemic.
Most inmates rely on families to deliver disinfectants or medicines, according to accounts. At the Minya Maximum Security Prison, a letter smuggled out by two inmates highlighted a great number of prisoners with Covid-19 symptoms, but an absence of sufficient care. Water cuts were routine and lasted up to 20 hours at a time. Those who objected to their conditions were severely punished. Punishments could include beatings, transfers, or the confiscation of necessary hygiene products.
These revelations affirm longstanding concerns about conditions in Egypt’s prisons. In April, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights urged Egypt to release those convicted of non-violent offenses and held in pre-trial detention. “Egypt’s prisons and detention facilities are often overcrowded, unsanitary, and suffer from a lack of resources,” the statement read. “Detainees are routinely denied access to adequate medical care and treatment.”
Pandemic Thrusts Venezuelan Migrants Deeper into Crisis
/in Water News/by Circle BlueVenezuelan migrants housed in temporary shelters in La Guajira, just across the border in northeastern Colombia, are grappling with two debilitating forces: Covid-19 and lack of clean water, according to the NGO network HelpAge International.
“We are hugely concerned about COVID-19 breaking out in La Guajira,” said Marcela Bustamante, a regional representative at HelpAge, in a statement. “The health services were already buckling under the strain caused by the large numbers of people living in desperate circumstances. If COVID-19 takes hold, it will be chaos and potentially lead to a colossal loss of lives.”
Due to crowded conditions, isolation is not an option for the more than 7,000 people living in shelters in La Guajira who are also dealing with government restrictions on movement.
A survey conducted by HelpAge in January highlighted that 84 percent of older migrants do not have handwashing stations and 78 percent do not have access to safe drinking water. Nearly 5,000 migrants in the area are elderly.
After the Covid-19 outbreak, these conditions have not changed. Of the 395 cases of the disease reported in La Guajira, 18 have been fatal. According to HelpAge, without proper water or sanitation facilities, the pandemic disease could spread quickly.
Amid Water Shortages, Covid-19 Surges Within White Mountain Apache Tribe
/in Water News/by Circle BlueOne out of every three members of the White Mountain Apache Tribe who was tested for Covid-19 has tested positive, according to an update published today by the Tribe’s Emergency Operations Center.
With a population of around 13,420 and just over 2,000 cases overall, one out of seven members has contracted the virus.
The high percentage is due in part to a testing strategy that focuses on high-risk individuals, according to Arizona Central. The large numbers overall can be attributed to many families members sharing houses. Water shortages that the Tribe suffers during summer months are another factor.
There may be no water for showers or even an absence of drinking water in some reservation communities, according to Tribe Chairwoman Gwendena Lee-Gatewood. A majority of the reservation’s population depends on a small well field, but the production has declined in recent years. In summer the areas of Cibecue and Carrizo are particularly affected. The Tribe won a settlement in 2010 to fund a drinking water project, which was then revised again in 2018.
After Arizona reopened earlier this summer, cases of coronavirus spiked, and the state has since reimposed some restrictions in order to contain the surge.
Covid-19 and Conflict a Double Hit on Water Workers
/in Water News/by Circle BlueThe International Committee of The Red Cross (ICRC) published a report today on the importance of water workers in conflict zones and the challenges they confront during the Covid-19 pandemic. The virus has left a secondary impact on health, water, sewerage and electricity services, and overwhelmed those personnel in the field along the way.
The report highlighted water and sanitation work in conflict and post-conflict areas like Syria, Iraq, Central African Republic, and Ukraine. Lack of funding, damaged infrastructure, delays in repairs, and distribution of hygiene products are only some of the issues facing countries in conflict as they also struggle with the pandemic. In Iraq, the Directorate of Water has the task of both restoring services from the conflict in Mosul, in 2017, and dealing with Covid-19.
“We’ve managed to keep water treatment plants and pumping stations running 24 hours a day to ensure that people get clean water,” said Engineer Muaed, director at the Directorate of Water. “But we’re facing a 75 percent cut in employee working hours and shortage of funds for routine operation and maintenance.”
The ICRC noted that as in conflict, the most vulnerable communities are hit hardest. Covid-19 hinders current water services, as well as prevents the extension of services to those in need.
Study Finds Water Accessibility Challenges in Vanuatu
/in Water News/by Circle BlueA study conducted by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine found that access to safe and reliable water in two provinces in Vanuatu is a greater challenge for menstruating women, people with disabilities, and those with incontinence.
The Water, Women, and Disability study highlighted that while 93 percent of people are likely to collect water themselves, only 66 percent of people with disabilities were able to do so. Those who did collect water felt unsafe due to fears of abuse from others. The study also noted the distance and inaccessibility of latrines and sanitation stations as a challenge for those with disabilities, and the importance of this access during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The report analyzed 11,446 households and 56,402 individuals in Vanuatu. According to the Vanuatu Ministry of Health, there have been no confirmed cases of Covid-19 on the island as of July 15.
The study was conducted in partnership with World Vision and funded by the Australian government’s Water for Women Fund.
UN-Habitat Installs Handwashing Stations in Kathmandu Markets and Slums
/in Water News/by Circle BlueUN-Habitat set up touch-free handwashing facilities to curb the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu, Nepal. The stations were installed in the capital’s vegetable markets, urban slums, and areas outside temples.
This “Water for Life” project is primarily supported by the people of Fukuoka, Japan. The communities, managed by mostly women, led in the selection of the sites, management of water and soap decisions, and the safe removal of wastewater. Four of the vegetable market handwashing stations are visited by over 10,000 customers and vendors every day. Bhagwati Adhikari, secretary of one women’s association in Nepal, noted that the handwashing stations not only encourage hygiene, but also help prevent a stigma against those who live in the Kathmandu slums.
For over a decade, UN-Habitat has been working to support Nepal’s national sanitation campaign, and the agency will continue to install handwashing facilities in 64 rural communities, overall targeting 1.4 million people.
Oxfam Focuses on Hygiene to Mitigate Virus in Nepal, Philippines, U.K.
/in Water News/by Circle BlueOxfam, along with the U.K. Department for International Development and the consumer goods company Unilever, began a 12-month program in Nepal and the Philippines to improve hygiene practices to prevent the spread of Covid-19. The program will build on Oxfam’s handwashing initiative Mum’s Magic Hands, which uses storytelling to encourage good hygiene.
The organization will train community volunteers to communicate the curriculum in the field as well as remotely through digital messaging, social media, or local news networks. Because women and girls are disproportionately affected by the pandemic, the new program will design activities specifically focused on challenges they face. Oxfam will also focus on its home territory by implementing more handwashing stands in Manchester and Oxford.
There have been just over 16,000 confirmed cases of the novel virus in Nepal and 56,259 cases in the Philippines, according to the World Health Organization. The UK has close to 900,000 confirmed cases, and has recently begun reopening its economy.
IOM Constructs New Water Purification Facilities in Sierra Leone
/in Water News/by Circle BlueThe International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Office of National Security in Sierra Leone constructed new water purification facilities to support those without access to clean water during the pandemic. The facilities were installed in five communities, including a resettlement area called Mile Six on the outskirts of the capital, Freetown.
The solar-powered water plants utilize the Japanese purification system called Poly Glu. The Poly Glu powder works as a coagulant which removes any dirt from the water by pulling the debris to the bottom of a container. Clean, purified water remains at the top. More than 1,000 residents at Mile Six now have access to the system for drinking as well as hygiene and hand washing, according to IOM.
Sierra Leone has confirmed 1,572 cases of Covid-19 and an estimated 2.9 million people live without clean water.
Jeneba Kargbo, the chair of displaced families in Mile Six, highlighted the need for the new taps. “We will continue our usual hygiene practices and encourage people to follow the Covid-19 preventative measures,” she said in a IOM press release. “Especially to practice proper hand washing.”