Water situation in Cambodia
Approximately 4 million people out of the total population in Cambodia lack access to safe water. About 25 percent of the population has access to safe drinking water. The number drops below 10 percent when rivers and ponds dry up.
“6.3 million Cambodians lack access to safe water: UNICEF. Some 3.9 million of those without access to safe drinking water in Cambodia are poor and live in rural areas. Without safe water and adequate sanitation and hygiene, children (41 per cent of the population) are especially vulnerable to water-borne diseases.
This costs lives and money.
Diarrhoea is second leading cause of death for children under the age of five in Cambodia, while vitamin and mineral deficiencies due to diarrhea results in an annual loss of US$146 million to Cambodia’s GDP. “ (Source UNICEF)
Rural Cambodians often bath in and drink water that is also used by animals. Water-born diseases such as dysentery are relatively common. In one survey, 82 percent of the children in Kampot Province suffer from parasitic illnesses. Many have chronic diarrhea directly linked to drinking contaminated water.
Every time it rains, the water stagnates in the area, which creates saturated unstable soils, and attracts unwanted living things such as snakes and mosquitoes.
In a country like Cambodia, the main source of any villager’s drinking water will come from rain fall. Water is collected in huge cement structures which store it for a long period of time. However, this creates unsafe environment parasites, and can also be the source of mosquito reproduction.