Water and health
Water is an important and basic human right. The United Nations General Assembly, on 28 July 2010 recognized the human right to water and sanitation through a resolution and acknowledged that clean drinking water and sanitation are essential to the realization of all human rights.
The resolution calls upon states and international organizations to provide financial resources, help capacity-building and technology transfer to help countries, in particular developing countries, to ensure provision of safe, clean, accessible and affordable drinking water and sanitation.
Clean drinking water and sanitation as well as better management of water resources are essential to speed up economic growth and an important factor to alleviate poverty.
Unsafe water and poor sanitation are factors leading to spread of diseases such as cholera, diarrhea, dysentery, hepatitis A, typhoid, and polio.
The inadequate and inappropriately managed water resources and sanitation services expose individuals to health hazards.
This is particularly the case in health care facilities where both patients and staff are placed at additional risk of infection and disease when water, sanitation, and hygiene services are lacking.