Health
According to the Centers for Disease Control, global access to safe water, adequate sanitation, and proper hygiene education can reduce illness and death from disease, leading to improved health, poverty reduction, and socio-economic development. Resources available in this sub-theme include guidance on installation of cost-effective safe water supply systems and latrines, summaries of health improvements following WASH projects, and other resources that can help to improve the understanding of the health implications of WASH projects.
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Health Resources
Watered Down Justice
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July 2, 2021Safe drinking water is a pillar in good water policy, but many communities of color face barriers that lead to a chronic lack of water access. Serious disinvestments in water infrastructure, which are fueled by systemic racism, have made significant impacts on majority-black cities like Newark, New...Read more
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United StatesWater Justice
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July 9, 2021Waters in urban and rural areas can be contaminated from a variety of sources, including industrial discharges, automobiles, wastewater, and agricultural use. Polluted water can cause environmental health hazards such as poor water quality and unsafe waters for recreation. Water utilities play a...Read more
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United StatesWater justice: why it matters and how to achieve it
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July 9, 2021Clean water is a vital component of safe, clean, and healthy communities. Despite this, billions of people around the world lack reliable access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services. Many communities have been systematically excluded from safe water infrastructures due to racism,...Read more
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GlobalThe blueprint of disaster: COVID-19, the Flint water crisis, and unequal ecological impacts
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July 9, 2021COVID-19 is unique in the scope of its effects on morbidity and mortality. However, the factors contributing to its disparate racial and socioeconomic effects are part of a continuous history of oppressive social policy. This history is characterized by institutionally generated inequalities forged...Read more
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United StatesEnvironmental justice and drinking water quality: are there socioeconomic disparities in nitrate levels in U.S. drinking water?
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July 13, 2021Low-income and minority communities often face disproportionately high pollutant exposures. The lead crisis in Flint, Michigan, has sparked concern about broader socioeconomic disparities in exposures to drinking water contaminants. Nitrate is commonly found in drinking water, especially in...Read more
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United StatesHealth consequences of drought in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region: hotspot areas and needed actions
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July 13, 2021Over the past four decades, drought episodes in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) of the World Health Organization (WHO) have gradually become more widespread, prolonged, and frequent. We aimed to map hotspot countries and identified key strategic actions for health consequences. A series of...Read more
Making the Invisible Visible: Results of a Community-Led Health Survey Following PFAS Contamination of Drinking Water in Merrimack, New Hampshire
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July 13, 2021In March 2016, citizens of Merrimack, New Hampshire, learned that their public water supply was contaminated with perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). A subsequent state-led investigation revealed widespread contamination of both public and private well water with PFOA and several related chemicals,...Read more
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United StatesApplying a Cumulative Risk Framework to Drinking Water Assessment: A Commentary
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July 13, 2021The health risks of drinking water contaminants and the economic benefits of drinking water standards are typically assessed one chemical at a time, an approach that misses the health impacts of co-occurring contaminants in drinking water. In contrast, a cumulative risk framework has become common...Read more
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United StatesWWF Position: Biobased and Biodegradable Plastic
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July 16, 2021Global plastic pollution is an increasingly urgent environmental crisis, and one which has amassed significant public attention in recent years. Plastic pollution threatens aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems around the world. An estimated 8 million tons of plastic waste enter the oceans every year...Read more
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GlobalClean Water and Reproductive Justice: Lack of Access Harms Women of Color
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July 22, 2021Access to clean, potable water is critical to people’s daily lives. People need safe and reliable water to drink, to bathe, to wash their hands, to cook, to survive and, ultimately, to prosper. Despite the necessity of water, millions of individuals living in the United States face the daily...Read more
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United StatesDon't see what you're looking for? You can search USWP member sites, request a resource, or contact the USWP.