Millions lack clean drinking water in Europe--UN
Pastor Dale Morgan
*Millions lack clean drinking water in Europe--UN*
17 Jan 2007 16:55:40 GMT
Source: Reuters
GENEVA, Jan 17 (Reuters) - More than 100 million people in Europe,
including the Balkans and the ex-Soviet Union, have no clean running
water in their homes and thousands fall seriously ill each year as a
result, U.N. agencies said on Wednesday.
The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and the World
Health Organisation (WHO) said 16 percent of households in what they
term the European region lack access to safe drinking water.
The problem, most prevalent in eastern Europe and in remote areas,
contributed to 170,000 cases of water-borne diseases across the region
last year, they said.
Babies from six months to 11 months old were the most vulnerable to such
diseases as viral hepatitis A, bloody diarrhoea and typhoid fever.
"We have children still dying because of diarrhoea in the European
region. This is unacceptable," Roberto Bertollini of the WHO regional
office for Europe told a news briefing in Geneva.
The U.N. agencies said wastewater systems needed to be overhauled in
remote areas, where many people drink and use water from wells that are
contaminated by nearby toilets.
Climate change was also seen as a threat to western European water
quality if it caused heavier rainfall and increased Mediterranean
droughts and warmer temperatures in lakes, rivers and seas.
"This can lead to unexpected outbreaks of water-borne diseases,
increased harmful algal blooms and the creation of environmental niches
for previously unknown (organisms)," the agencies said.