Vivar, M. and Pichel, N. and Fuentes, M. (2017) Drinking-water access and health in refugee camps: An overview of the Saharawi case. In: Handbook of Famine, Starvation, and Nutrient Deprivation: From Biology to Policy. Springer International Publishing. ISBN 978-3-319-55386-3
Full text not available from this repository.Abstract
Drinking-water deprivation in terms of access, quantity and quality poses serious health hazards both in the short and long term. This is especially critical in refugee chronic situations that last for decades, such as the Saharawi refugee camps (> 40 years). Water access and water quantity improves health, as water is not only needed for direct consumption or cooking but also for hygiene, directly related to health. On the other hand, water quality avoids not only gastrointestinal diseases in the short term, but also other health issues that appear under a long term exposure. This chapter reviews the history of drinking water and health at the Saharawi refugee camps, showing how water access has improved over the years but still does not guarantee the minimum quantity of 20 l/person/day established by UNHCR. It also shows how water treatment using chlorination has reduced dramatically the diseases associated to microbiological contamination, and how the poor raw water quality that a percentage of the population is still consuming has produced long term health effects, such as the prevalence of fluorosis and goitre.
| Item Type: | Book Section |
|---|---|
| Subjects: | H Social Sciences > HN Social history and conditions. Social problems. Social reform Q Science > Q Science (General) R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine > RA0421 Public health. Hygiene. Preventive Medicine |
| Depositing User: | Natalia Pichel Mira |
| Date Deposited: | 04 May 2017 14:35 |
| Last Modified: | 04 May 2017 14:35 |
| URI: | http://eprints.imdea-agua.org:13000/id/eprint/759 |
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