Lack of clean water spells disaster for many Afghans

As a result of heavy flooding, much of the water in Afghanistan has been contaminated, IRIN reported Wednesday. An estimated 10,000 Afghans, mostly children, have been diagnosed with acute diarrhea in recent weeks.

“For the last six weeks 200-300 diarrhea patients a day, almost all of them children, have been visiting our hospital,” Abdula Rawof Ferogh, the head of a hospital in Balk Province, said. Twenty deaths have occurred in Daykundi (central Afghanistan) and Balkh (northern Afghanistan) in the past five weeks alone.

Contaminated water is being used to wash produce and fruits and vegetables have been tainted as a result. According to the World Health Organization, more than two million people die each year as a result of diarrhea, either through consuming contaminated water or by contracting the disease from individuals with poor personal hygiene.

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