Drinking Water - Haiti Observer Blog

About Forty percent of the people in Haiti lack access to clean water and only one in five have access to a sanitary toilet. Even in the capital city, millions of people have no reliable water supply. One of the most popular and affordable solutions for lack of access to hygienic water is sachés dlo, 9oz water bags that are sold in every corner of the country. However, when they are discarded after consumption, become a big problem.

They do not decompose and by the time they get into any drain, that drain is plugged and it causes flooding. Plastic bags are difficult and costly to recycle and most end up on landfill sites where they take around 300 years to photo degrade. Plastic bags are now amongst the top 12 items of debris most often found along coastlines that cause damage to the sea life. To reduce the sachet water consumption, the government should provide clean drinking water to the citizens, and they must take necessary steps to recycle the plastic wastes.

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Haiti's School Children need Clean Drinking Water and Toilets. Human Rights Watch (HRW) has urged the World Bank, international donors, and the government of Haiti (GOH) to begin providing school children with clean toilets and safe drinking water. They are gathering at a donors' conference in Washington D.C., to increase funding commitments toward clean drinking water and an improved sanitation and health system on the island.

HRW has discovered almost 60% of Haitian schools lack toilets, with over 75% having no access to water. Even recently completed schools, built with funds contributed by international donors, HRW found did not meet government guidelines, lacking both sufficient water and sanitation facilities. Consequently, students are missing classroom time, at home ill with diarrhea. HRW is asking the World Bank to lead on this issue by supporting basic rights of school children to clean drinking water, and proper and adequate sanitation facilities at their schools. HRW's Amanda Klasing says "The majority of children in Haiti attend schools in such poor condition . . . they risk contracting disease . . ."

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