The problem statement for my final paper is: Among communities in El Salvador, there is a huge disparity between the urban and rural availability of continuously flowing, potable water as of 2008.
Surveillance is vital for determining the urgency and prevalence of an issue. In the realm of public health, it is defined as the systematic collection and analysis of data to subsequently disseminate to public health officials. In El Salvador, a converging set of challenges contributes to the issue of potable water availability, which makes it an intricate and complex problem to address and solve.
The Ministry of Health of El Salvador conducted a study in conjunction with the Center for Disease Control and USAID. In urban areas, 87% of the population has access to treated water and of the population 68% have access to continuous sources. Meanwhile, in rural areas away from the urban center, 56% have access to such water and 34% have access to continuous service (FASAL 2008).
The June 2010 Millennium Development Goals Report found that El Salvador was among the top twenty nations making progress relative to its MDGs and the 2006 Millennium Development Goals Assessment Report stated that the country was on track to reach its MDG for improved access to drinking-water sources. This 2006 United Nations Report found that 94% of urban populations and 70% of rural populations had access to improved sources of water, an average of 84%. But, this does not take into account the inequities of pricing to gain access to such water, and considering that nations are reporting this data, discovering to what extent such improvements qualify as would require further analysis.
A researcher at the University of Florida Public Utility Research Center found that 94% of the country is served by the Administración Nacional de Acueductos y Alcantarillados, or ANDA, the dominant water supplier for the communities in the country (Berg 2008). Meanwhile, the United Nations Environment Programme reported that the quality of water treatment in the country is very low – a startling 1 to 2% of wastewater is adequately treated before it is discharged (UNEP 2002). Sewage treatment is poorly available – with 31 small plants under operation using various treatment systems that hardly meets sanitation needs.
According to a review by the European Union’s External Action Service, 90% of the surface water is contaminated. Taking this further, data was collected that showed that 98% of municipal wastewater and 90% of industrial wastewater is discharged to river and creeks without treatment (EEAS 2010). El Salvador is hardly lacking in water as a natural resource, but it qualifies as a water stressed country in that water sanitation, management and distribution of the resource to the populations is extremely sub-par, which severely compromises human productivity and health.
In an assessment of the data I found, I would have liked to be aware of how the data was collected. Given that much of the data was collected by associates of large governmental aid and surveillance organizations, it is difficult to assess validity. Therefore, I must rethink either the way that I research the topic, explore further the way in which data collection is conducted, or most often look directly for regional data on Salvadoran websites (which I did do for the Health Ministry report).
Works Cited:
Berg, Sanford. Water Utility Performance in Central America: The Political Economy of
Coverage, Quality, and Cost. Rep. University of Florida Public Utility Research Center, 30 Aug. 2008. Web. .
Encuesta Nacional De Salud Familiar. Rep. FESA -- Ministerio De Salud: Gobierno De El
Salvador, Oct. 2008. Web.
International Source Book On Environmentally Sound Technologies for Wastewater and
Stormwater Management. Rep. United Nations Environment Programme: Division of Technology, Industry and Economics, 2002. Web. .
"Midterm Review of the Country Strategy of 2007-2013 and National Indicative Programme
2011-2013." Review. European Commission. European Union: European External Action Service, 2010. Web. .
Great post Ginny. This is definitely a growing problem around the world but from your evidence it is clear that it is a serious problem in El Salvador. Great surveillance indicators. Look forward to reading your paper!
ReplyDeleteKelley
Excellent post.
ReplyDeleteYou've compiled an excellent variety of sources. The data looks alarming already, and I want to see where your paper is going.
Adrian
Good Post!
ReplyDeleteYou really hammered in on the statistics for your problem. Your sources seem credible, but then again, like you mentioned, you must be careful when assessing reports conducted by government agencies. Data can be manipulated to place emphasis on one area. Aside from that, you did a great job mapping out your problem. My only concern is with the wording of your problem statement. Instead of saying "huge disparity" you could perhaps say "53% difference or disparity" or something along those lines. Good job!
Hai
Thorough post, Ginny. You have a good amount of statistics and information to back up your problem, and your statement is clear and specific. The problem of contaminated water is quite prevalent in many developing countries. I also like that you cite your articles. Good job!
ReplyDeleteShannon
Ginny,
ReplyDeleteGreat job with the problem statement and magnitude of the problem. Here are couple suggestions. You mention MDG goals. You and I know what they are but other readers may not. So you may want to mention what the specific MDG goals are for water before saying that El Salvador is on track to meet the goals. Also, it would add further detail to say what the water is contaminated with: fecal matter? chemicals from industries? trash? all of the above? Also, think about infrastructure as you move forward in thinking about recommendations for the problem. What kind of infrastructure is in place (or not in place)? Are the rural folks using latrines or simply disposing of fecal matter into the streams and waterways? Just things to think about. Excellent job, Ginny!