. Poverty Eradication
The provision of adequate water and sanitation are vital to improve living conditions and
to ensure health, educational opportunities, gender equality and social inclusion, and
environmental sustainability. Increased water and sanitation access and hygiene promotion
create improvements in people health through better hygiene, improved water quality, and
sanitation, but they also have an indirect positive effect on educational opportunities,
gender equality, and the empowerment of women.
Safe water and sanitation also underpins economic growth and environmental
sustainability. Income benefits (for both households and government) may result from a
reduction in the costs of health treatment and gains in productivity. Poor water and
sanitation result in compromised health status thereby affecting availability of labour
therefore economic productivity of the nation. Good water and sanitation saves a million
productive man-hours through reduced time spent on carrying for the sick. Productivity
gains also stem from time saved from collecting water, the availability of water as an input
to the productive sector, and a decline in water and sanitation related illnesses.
Poverty is greatly related to food insecurity within most parts of the world. Therefore in
order to eradicate poverty there is need to improve food security, which is highly related to
agricultural production. Great agricultural production is depended on adequate, reliable
water systems. Water is a direct input to irrigation for expanded grain production,
subsistence farming, nutritional gardens and livestock. Therefore, investment in water
infrastructure is a catalyst for improved agricultural production for improved poverty
levels. Small-scale technologies such as the drip kit have become important in the dry
region in trying to combat poverty. These make the most of available water.
Improved water resources management, which maintains ecosystem integrity, serve to
promote rural livelihoods that depend on the natural resources for sustenance, thereby
reducing vulnerability to poverty.
b. Combating HIV/AIDS and Malaria
Malaria is associated with stagnant water and enabling environmental conditions for the
breeding of the Anopheles mosquito. Therefore better water management strategies reduce
mosquito habitats in turn reducing the incidences of malaria. Sound water management
also reduces the risk of a wide range of water borne diseases.
Improved water supply results in improved food security thereby reduced poverty that in
turn reduces susceptibility to HIV/AIDS, through reducing risky behaviour such as
prostitution. Also for PLWHIV, health and nutrition reduces opportunistic infections.
The availability of descent sanitation facilities preserves the dignity of PLWHIV. Home
based care for the terminally ill requires clean and safe solid waste disposal from patients.
