ASIA/INDONESIA - Each year 50 thousand deaths due to contaminated water and poor sanitation

Monday, 2 March 2015

Jakarta (Agenzia Fides) - Heavy pollution of river water by household and industrial waste in the Indonesian province of West Java, in particular Ciliwung and Citarum, is threatening the health of at least five million people living on the riverbanks, say government officials and water experts. Poor sanitation and hygiene cause 50,000 deaths annually in Indonesia, with untreated sewage resulting in over six million tons of human waste. People use the river for a toilet and children play in it because they have nowhere else to swim. Fishermen on the Ciliwung use blast fishing bombs made of kerosene and fertilizer to kill fish so they are easier to catch - which has worsened pollution.
According to KRuHA, which represents more than 30 Indonesian NGOs focusing on safe water access, said none of the capital’s rivers could be viewed as safe for human use. 90 percent of ground water in Jakarta is contaminated by E.coli bacteria. Many infant deaths are caused by this bacteria. E.coli is the main threat to human life from these rivers. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that nationwide more than 20,000 children in this age group die every year from diarrhoea.
Dengue fever and malaria, both spread by mosquitoes that thrive in stagnant water, account for an additional 3 percent of overall child deaths: The Ministry of Environment is using educational campaigns to raise awareness of the dangers of unsafe water and to end defecation in rivers. (AP) (Agenzia Fides 02/03/2015)


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