December 25, 2007
By Noah Arre
The following article is based on information I had just received from reliable friends who recently came back from Somaliland.
According to them, one major problem they noticed is that Somaliland cities in general and Hargeisa in particular are devastated by a multitude of pollution problems. Observed problems include: poor municipal waste management (both dry and liquid wastes) and lack or scarcity of sanitary clean water supply. Unfortunately, both problems are a recipe for disaster to public health.
So, as a professional in the water and sanitation sector who worked in both areas since 1982 both in the USA and the United Arab Emirates, I find it imperative to post in our website, the following public hygiene educational open letter for municipal as well as for all concerned parties in the country hoping that such information will be of help to them.
In addition, I plan to visit Somaliland in February 2008, I am willingly prepared to make a free public hygiene educational presentation and everyone is invited. So, those of you who are interested are certainly welcome.
Introduction
It is an established fact that providing safe drinking water and sanitation services to the citizens of any nation can improve public health. And certainly improved public health and educational advancement are some of the pillars and primary indicators of national development….a sick community cannot contribute much toward the development of its country. Improved public health for instance reduces or prevents infant and child mortality from diarrheas and dysenteries caused by bacteria or protozoa (both different types of microscopic living organisms)!
According to the World Health Organization, the number of cholera cases …a dirty waterborne disease, during 2006 was 236,896 cases, with 6,311 deaths in just 52 countries, a rise of 79% over the previous year. And an estimated 4 billion cases of diarrheal disease cases occur worldwide every year, killing an estimated 3 million people a year most of whom are children under 5.
However, according to a November 2007 report by a British humanitarian organization, improvements in sanitation can have a dramatic effect on reducing cholera and diarrheal diseases… again both dirty waterborne diseases. And the scientific world therefore today urges communities worldwide to take concrete actions to improve urban sanitation. The same British study also says that one effective way to improve public health in developing countries is by collecting and treating wastes (both solid and dry wastes).
Untreated Garbage In Your Neighborhood Can Harbor Killer Diseases!
Urbanization is one of the most powerful emerging realities of the 21st century and cities are the engines of economic growth. However, urbanization comes with its own problems… production of huge wastes is one of them. And often there is a positive correlation between city population size and the percentage of collected wastes.
Historically, managing wastes and insuring a clean and hygienic living environment has been an enduring challenge facing mankind through the ages. The Greeks were the first to think and map out an arrangement with the city of Athens organizing a municipal dump in 500 BC. Citizens were required to dispose off their wastes a least one mile from the city.
Today, millenniums later, man is still engaged in perfecting the most ideal solution to handle wastes employing newer technologies. But one stark and unwavering lesson learned is that any project that directly touches people’s life needs their active participation. However, in many of them including projects like waste management, it is unfortunate that people’s participation is not forthcoming and people tend to think that it is the sole responsibility of the government.
So, Somaliland cities today face serious solid and liquid waste problems and the authorities responsible for collection and treatment have little resources or have the necessary appropriate infrastructure or educational know-how and expertise. And this usually leads to low collection and disposal. As a result, today it is estimated that up to 80% of the generated wastes remain uncollected. The rest is collected irregularly, dumped in an uncontrolled manner or outside the cities outskirts. Unfortunately, this practice leads to significant health risks for the population and wide degradation of the environment.
However, the unscientific disposal of wastes is risky and residents suffer in areas where there is no proper waste disposal method. Children, waste workers as well as people living close to a waste dump sites or those whose water supply is contaminated either due to waste or leakage from waste landfill sites are affected.
In countries like Somaliland, wastes (both solid and liquid) in general and domestic wastes in particular pose serious threat because they ferment creating conditions favorable to the survival and growth of killer microbes…. a WHO study estimates that 80% of all sicknesses occur due to this!
Waste disposal sites can also create health hazards for the neighborhood. Improperly managed and poorly designed landfills attract all types of insects, birds, animals, etc. which act as vectors or agents that spread diseases.
Moreover, unhygienic use and disposal of plastics and its effects on human health has become a matter of concern. Colored plastics for instance are harmful as their pigment contains heavy metals that are highly toxic.
And hazards associated with wastes include: skin and blood infections resulting from direct contact with waste and from infected wounds, eye and respiratory infections resulting from exposure to infected dust and different diseases that result from bites of animals and insects feeding on the wastes as well as intestinal infections that are transmitted by flies feeding on wastes.
Summary/Remarks
As urbanization continues, management of urban waste (both solid and liquid) is becoming a major public health and environmental concern in many developing countries including Somaliland. That concern is serious, particularly in big cities like Hargeisa.
Although provision of safe drinking water, safe waste disposal and sanitation services to the citizens of any nation can improve public health, it is estimated that up to 80% of the generated wastes in developing countries remain uncollected …safe potable water is scarce or unavailable too. The rest of the waste is collected irregularly, dumped in an uncontrolled manner or outside the cities outskirts. This practice leads to significant health risks to the population and a wide degradation of the environment.
So, if Somaliland has to catch up with the rest of the world community in this field, it is a high time that its authorities as well as its intellectuals sacrifice by initiating and implementing relevant programs… including public education and action in the health and sanitation sector.
It is also a high time for public officials to find a lasting solution in combating those problems and despite scarce resources, they could accomplish a lot. The era of social irresponsibility is long gone!
One way to achieve success would be to privatize all unproductive public sectors since private institutions rarely fail but have instead proven to be efficient and effective in all their endeavors!
Noah Arre
Email: noah.arre@gmail.com
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