Access to clean water in Afghanistan is a challenge for the majority of the citizens. The situation in rural Afghanistan, however, is much direr. With approximately 80 percent of the country’s population living in rural areas, the fact that only 20 percent of this segment of the population, in contrast to 27 percent in the cities, has access to sanitary water supplies could shed some light on the scope of the challenge of providing access to clean water and sanitation in Afghanistan. From a myriad of factors that contribute to the problem of access to clean water and sanitation in Afghanistan, lack of adequate and efficient water infrastructure plays an important role. Unlike the urban environment which requires a more centralized and costly infrastructure planning, addressing the issue of insufficient water infrastructure through a relatively decentralized approach could make a tangible impact on the access to clean water for most Afghan citizens.
Decades of civil war and negligence has left Afghanistan with a huge water infrastructure deficit of 11 billion dollars. Lack of any comprehensive water management plan, or capacity for that matter, has further complicated the water situation in Afghanistan. While heavily reliant on rivers and the snow run-off from the mountains during spring and summer for agricultural purposes, no reservoir, water canals, or major dams have been developed to harness and control the country’s major source of water. Climate change’s impact on the geographical and timing patterns, as well as the quantity of the seasonal flow of water that manifest themselves in the form of flooding and droughts, have further intensified Afghanistan’s need for water infrastructure.
Beyond these ecological impacts, not only do difficulties in having access to water supplies contribute to over 40 percent of local conflicts in rural Afghanistan, it does take a toll on the health and wellbeing of many Afghan citizens too. With over 20 percent of the rural population who deprived of any basic sanitary facilities practice open defecation, the alternative of traditional unsanitary latrines does not offer much relief considering the contamination risk they pose to the underground and surface sources of water that are commonly used by the rural population. Under these circumstances, it is no surprise that 25 percent of the death of children under the age of 5 is attributed to water contamination and poor sanitation.
There is no doubt that addressing Afghanistan’s huge water infrastructure deficit requires a significant amount of financial resources and planning. Providing funds and designs for strategic water management projects such as dams, reservoir, sustainable and adequate irrigation systems are contingent on the central government’s political will and ability to negotiate with the international community and neighboring countries to achieve a workable arrangement for the region and the country. Addressing the most urgent aspects of Afghanistan’s clean water and sanitation crisis, however, does not require significant centralized and coordinated effort. Quite to the contrary, educational initiatives on basic sanitation and waste disposal does not require significant financial resources or equipment. Similarly, development of local water treatment facilities through decentralized and local collaboration that could be encouraged by government “water tariffs” in the supply of clean water in the rural Afghanistan would have an immediate impact on the scope and quality of water supply in the rural areas.
Sources consulted:
· https://www.hydratelife.org/afghanistans-water-crisis/
· https://borgenproject.org/water-quality-afghanistan/
· https://www.thethirdpole.net/2016/10/24/afghanistans-coming-water-crisis/
· http://www.mintpressnews.com/MyMPN/afghans-lack-access-clean-water/