One of the biggest blessings of Almighty Allah is water. Imagine a day without drinking water, Does it scares you like me?
Water Scarcity
Well, now that Pakistan is among those regions where the scarcity of water has reached a threatening level, we all need to make sure that we don’t even waste a drop of water. Even our Prophet (PBUH) has a beautiful hadith that gives us a lesson about not wasting water; it goes “Do not waste water even if you were at a running stream”
Read Also: Waterborne Disease Threat after Recent Floods in Pakistan
When I visited Karachi
I personally felt the real pain of not having water readily available, when I went to Karachi for the first time. I was 11 years old when I went there to attend a wedding and I clearly remember I was so thirsty and when I asked for water, I got an answer “Sorry kid (Beta) mineral water bottle has been finished and water supply hasn’t yet arrived”. It was surprising to me. I got to know there that Karachi has been suffering from a low supply of water for ages and don’t have clean water to drink.
Waterborne Diseases
Due to the lack of availability of clean water, in slum areas contaminated water is taking the lives of many people in Karachi. Contaminated water is poison for our children hence drinking contaminated water can lead to some life-threatening Waterborne Diseases such as:
Diarrhea: Drinking contaminated water can transmit bacteria to the body. Rotavirus is a common cause of diarrhea among children of people living in Karachi.
Malaria: When mosquitoes lay their larvae in still water and it is consumed by someone it can cause a person to suffer from Malaria. In Karachi, water sources aren’t taken care of because of the lack of a sanitation system in the overall area.
Cholera: Again when water sources such as water tank, tube wells, etc are not protected or water source is present around the unhygienic, polluted area it can contaminate the water causing the transmission of bacteria through the water.
Hepatitis A: Due to the lack of sanitation system in slum areas of Karachi, water sources get contaminated with the feces of infected humans; this infected water can potentially make you suffer from a Liver disease, Hepatitis A virus.
Typhoid: Again poor sanitation system or contaminated water exposed to the virus can make you suffer from bone breaker fever, Typhoid.
In case you feel even the slightest symptom of the above-mentioned diseases consult a doctor as soon as possible.
All of the above water-borne diseases can become life-threatening if not diagnosed or treated on time. Special care for kids is required as their immune system is weak to cope up with the above-mentioned diseases.
