Water Quality and Health in Poor Urban Areas of Latin America

Abstract

Water quality is largely absent in the water policy debate and analysis in the Latin American region. Although there is no disagreement as to the negative impact of unsafe and poor-quality water on human health, there is very little scrutiny and policy discussion on the matter. Considering data from different case studies on health and environment in poor urban areas in the region, this paper reviews some of the knowledge on water quality and human health in Latin American cities. Furthermore, conclusions as well as recommendations are drawn highlighting policy-oriented approaches to this problem.