Bangladesh's rural water scandal.

Abstract

Arsenic occurs naturally underground in parts of Bangladesh, and its contamination of rural water supplies first came to public attention more than two decades ago. Since then, the Bangladesh Government supported by donor agencies (including UNICEF and the World Bank) have collaborated to mitigate a growing water contamination crisis, with a focus on the installation of thousands of deep tube wells that source water from below shallower levels where traces of arsenic are often found.A new report by Human Rights Watch released on April 6 highlights how the rural water crisis in Bangladesh is far from being resolved. The report paints a grim picture of villagers scarred with skin lesions, almost certainly caused by arsenic contaminated water; of neglected tube wells not being regularly checked for contamination; an absence of arsenic screening or treatment programmes from local health facilities; and details of a 2013 national survey of drinking water which showed how 12% of rural households—around 20 million people—were consuming water with arsenic concentrations above 50 μg/L, Bangladesh's safe water threshold.Shockingly, the report also provides evidence of how the positioning of deep tube wells can sometimes represent a political manoeuvre by local government officials keen to garner support in a particular district, rather than the prioritisation of safe water provision to the areas at greatest risk of arsenic contamination.The report is an urgent wake-up call for all players in Bangladesh's rural water supply, and for other governments and donor agencies focused on water and sanitation, where arsenic contamination may be a public-health threat. For Bangladesh, the report highlights the need for a renewed and sustained arsenic mitigation campaign. This will require an independent body to oversee service implementation by government, especially in its engineering and health departments; for donor agencies, funding needs to be closely monitored and followed through. Until all of Bangladesh's citizens have access to safe water, their right to health will remain scandalously denied. Arsenic occurs naturally underground in parts of Bangladesh, and its contamination of rural water supplies first came to public attention more than two decades ago. Since then, the Bangladesh Government supported by donor agencies (including UNICEF and the World Bank) have collaborated to mitigate a growing water contamination crisis, with a focus on the installation of thousands of deep tube wells that source water from below shallower levels where traces of arsenic are often found. A new report by Human Rights Watch released on April 6 highlights how the rural water crisis in Bangladesh is far from being resolved. The report paints a grim picture of villagers scarred with skin lesions, almost certainly caused by arsenic contaminated water; of neglected tube wells not being regularly checked for contamination; an absence of arsenic screening or treatment programmes from local health facilities; and details of a 2013 national survey of drinking water which showed how 12% of rural households—around 20 million people—were consuming water with arsenic concentrations above 50 μg/L, Bangladesh's safe water threshold. Shockingly, the report also provides evidence of how the positioning of deep tube wells can sometimes represent a political manoeuvre by local government officials keen to garner support in a particular district, rather than the prioritisation of safe water provision to the areas at greatest risk of arsenic contamination. The report is an urgent wake-up call for all players in Bangladesh's rural water supply, and for other governments and donor agencies focused on water and sanitation, where arsenic contamination may be a public-health threat. For Bangladesh, the report highlights the need for a renewed and sustained arsenic mitigation campaign. This will require an independent body to oversee service implementation by government, especially in its engineering and health departments; for donor agencies, funding needs to be closely monitored and followed through. Until all of Bangladesh's citizens have access to safe water, their right to health will remain scandalously denied.