Provision of Clean Water as a Factor of Epidemiological Transition in Sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

The article examines the problem of access of the population of Sub-Saharan Africa to clean water and its impact on keeping high mortality rates in the region from communicable diseases. It is revealed that despite the increase in indicators of access to clean water, the situation for the countries of the region remains extremely difficult, due to the fact that more than 20% of the population still uses only unsafe water sources. The critical situation persists in Madagascar, DR Congo, CAR, Chad, and Angola, where more than a third of the population does not have access to clean water. The limitation of access to clean water sources hinders the passage of the epidemiological transition by the population: in most countries of the region, the proportion of deaths from communicable diseases still exceeds the proportion of deaths from chronic non-communicable diseases and injuries, which indicates the incompleteness of the second stage of the transition. The proportion of deaths from communicable diseases associated with the use of unsafe water sources is almost 3 times higher than the global average.