As the blockade entered its sixth year, the 1.6 million population of the Gaza Strip is spending as much as a third of household income on drinking water, creating hardships and health risks for the poorest who cannot afford to buy water from vendors. For the latter, the only option is private and agricultural wells that are mostly polluted.
The situation is particularly precarious for Gaza‟s children, who make up around half of the enclave‟s population and for whom particular public health threats from unsafe water have been identified. Gaza's sole water source, the aquifer, is contaminated with dangerous levels of chlorides, nitrates and other pollutants, some far in excess of WHO guideline values, the result of long-standing water-security, sanitation and environmental crises. Also, with sea water seeping into the aquifer as more underground water is extracted, most of the water reaching households is salinated.
The public water network is similarly chemically and microbiologically contaminated from source and during distribution and storage, making tap water unsafe to drink. Microbiological water contamination, mainly from sewage seeping into the aquifer, is pervasive and responsible for high incidents of diarrhoea and other water-associated diseases in Gaza‟s children under five in particular. more
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