Water Challenges in Developing Countries

Water Challenges in Developing countries
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Water Issues in Developing countries
The lack of adequate water of good quality is one of the biggest environmental challenges facing developing countries in the 21st century. Environmental sustainability was one of the eight-millennium goals that the United Nations set at the Johannesburg Earth Summit in South Africa to ensure proper sanitation becomes a universal goal by 2020. The target was to make at least 100 million slum dwellers in developing and third-world countries access clean water. However, it remains a dream as developing countries such as India continue to grapple with challenges of clean and safe water for domestic and commercial use (Oguekwe, 2017). In this paper, we compare issues related to access of clean water in the U.S and India, a case study of a developing country.
Many international financing agencies and governmental agencies in developing countries use access to quality water as an indicator of improved living standards, especially among slum dwellers. Many U.S Non-governmental organizations also promote access to clean water to eradicate diseases caused by inadequate water or rather 'poor' quality water. It is estimated that, over 40% of the population in India lack access to clean water for use, which becomes a major challenge when containing diseases and environmental pollution. Research by the WHO shows a direct link between poor sanitation and diseases such as cholera, typhoid, and other infectious diseases in developing countries.
The United States and its partners are committed to supporting a blue economy where countries worldwide will have adequate access to quality water to meet human, ecosystem and livelihood needs (Oguekwe, 2017). In order to achieve this target, a key framework that supports government, individuals, and organizations should be developed. To attain a world-secure world, the United Nations must incorporate principles discussed in this paper which include; improving access to quality water and sanitation, Encouraging water resource management, and improving water access for industry and irrigation.
1 Improving Access to Quality Water and Sanitation
The social, economic, and health effects of limited access to clean water in India are massive and are mostly aided by international partners such as the UN and UNICEF. The international community had agreed, as one of its goals, to half the number of people who have access to clean drinking water and basic sanitation by 2015. While the United States is at the forefront of making sure that the world is steadily moving towards attaining the goal, India lags behind due to the many challenges in the region. Developing countries continue to lag on sanitation, especially those in South Asia and Africa, and the UN estimates that Sub-Saharan Africa will attain the Millennial Development Goals by 2076 (Mutikanga et al. 2009).
           International acceptable standards for clean water for human use do not consider water quality and reliability. For example, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO) gave estimates that 65 percent of the population in India have ...