By: SHALLON S. GONLOR
NIMBA COUNTY — About 1000 people living in Duo-beach Town, Nimba County District#2 are reportedly exposed to extremely unsafe drinking water.
According to the report, the lack of safe drinking water in the town has plagued hundreds of residents including pregnant women and children to risk health threats. Edmund Nyan Dahn, a youth of Duo-beach Town said several residents including pregnant women and children are more likely to die from diarrhea linked to unsafe water, sanitation, and hygiene facilities (WASH).
He stressed that all three hand pumps constructed and serving as the only source of safe drinking water were damaged beyond their technical control about months ago. “Thank you. It is a sad, very frustrating, and dangerous situation in our home today where the community that hosts over 1000 inhabitants lack the source of safe drinking water is a very dangerous situation and health threat to us in Duo-beach Town” he stated.
Mr. Dahn highlighted the fact that children “are among the most vulnerable” and face a multitude of threats linked to the lack of safe water, sanitation, and hygiene services in the area. Laminating that girls are particularly affected, warning that they face becoming victims of sexual violence as they collect water, or venture out to use latrines.
Also, girls struggle to manage menstrual hygiene and miss lessons during menstruation, as the school serving their community have no suitable water and sanitation facilities, Dahnnoted. As many as 1000 people are exposed to potentially unsafe water, according to Dahn all three hand pumps that provide them with safe water during the past decade have spoiled, causing them to fetch and drink from creeks, rivers, and rainwater.
Edmund Nyan Dahn said “In the time past we had three hand pumps in Duo-beach, but as we speak, all the three hand pumps spoiled. Our people have made efforts, at times when it spoils we can collect money, we go we buy the spare parts to fix it but this time around it is beyond our control and the time is lacked of a source of safe drinking water. We now fetch water from creeks, and rivers, and even drink rainwater. It a very dangerous situation for our people here in Duo-beach”.
Many people die every day across rural regions of Liberia because of poor access to water, sanitation, and hygiene. In the case of Duo-beach, women and children in particular fetched water from unprotected dug wells and springs to drink, risking health hazards. Mothers said “Every day, we are fighting a losing battle against preventable waterborne diseases. “We need the support of donors to provide safe water, build toilets, and deliver vital sanitation services to our children and this community to we in need the most.” The women told journalists of walking long distances and queueing for hours to try and get their children something to drink. Often, the only water available is polluted, which makes people sick with diarrhea and vomiting, increasing the risk of dehydration.
Kou, a mother of several children stressed: “We need to walk long distances to obtain water. The water we get is polluted and yellow. It’s also filled with bugs and insects. Many children are falling ill as a result of drinking this water. Many of my children had diarrhea that lasted over a week due to the water pollution…Getting fresh drinking water is difficult.” Pauline, a young mother also added that: “We get water with difficulty, as it is a very long distance away, and it is also unclean and undrinkable…The water causes my children to suffer from skin diseases…”.
This paper’s findings uncovered how six decades of waste dumping, farming pollution, and washing and toileting in water sources have taken a toll on local water systems.
However, an estimated 1000 people in the area and tens of thousands in rural Liberia drink contaminated water, often without knowing it, and every day people die of chronic diarrhoeal disease due to inadequate water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH).
Clean and safe drinking water at their homes is frequently unavailable for people living in rural areas. In the region of Liberia, people do not have piped water at home, and still lack access to basic drinking water services. These people use water from unprotected dug wells and springs, directly consume surface water, or need more than 30 minutes to collect water.
Accordingly, citizens and residents of Duo-beach Town are struggling to survive without enough water to drink, that alone covers all their needs such as washing, cooking, and cleaning, calling for swift intervention from government and humanitarian organizations to restore safe drinking water in their community.
