Deadly Israeli airstrikes pound Gaza as Doha talks raise hopes for ceasefire    Egypt accelerates coastal protection projects amid rising climate threats    Egypt's PM calls Israeli war on Gaza 'most dangerous crisis' at BRICS summit    Egypt's FinMin urges BRICS to support debt sustainability    Egypt's gold prices up on July 6th    Venezuela vows to uphold sovereignty on 214th independence anniversary    ADIB Egypt publishes second sustainability report for 2024    Egypt, Saudi FMs discuss Gaza truce, Iran-Israel tensions    Over 215,000 projects funded under Mashrouak, exceeding EGP 33bn in May: Minister    Egypt, Norway hold informal talks ahead of global plastic treaty negotiations    Greco-Roman tombs with hieroglyphic inscriptions discovered in Aswan    UN conference cites Egypt's 'NWFE' programme as model for development finance    Global tour for Korean 'K-Comics' launches in Cairo with 'Hellbound' exhibition    China's factory output expands in June '25    Philip Morris Misr announces new price list effective 1 July    Egypt teams up with private sector to boost university rankings    Egypt reveals heritage e-training portal    Three ancient rock-cut tombs discovered in Aswan    Egypt condemns deadly terrorist attack in Niger    Egypt's FM, China's Wang discuss Iran-Israel escalation    Egypt's EHA, Schneider Electric sign MoU on sustainable infrastructure    Sisi launches new support initiative for families of war, terrorism victims    Grand Egyptian Museum opening delayed to Q4    Egypt expands e-ticketing to 110 heritage sites, adds self-service kiosks at Saqqara    Egypt's EDA joins high-level Africa-Europe medicines regulatory talks    Egypt's Irrigation Minister urges scientific cooperation to tackle water scarcity    Palm Hills Squash Open debuts with 48 international stars, $250,000 prize pool    Egypt's Democratic Generation Party Evaluates 84 Candidates Ahead of Parliamentary Vote    On Sport to broadcast Pan Arab Golf Championship for Juniors and Ladies in Egypt    Golf Festival in Cairo to mark Arab Golf Federation's 50th anniversary    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Cabinet approves establishment of national medical tourism council to boost healthcare sector    Egypt's PM follows up on Julius Nyerere dam project in Tanzania    Egypt's FM inspects Julius Nyerere Dam project in Tanzania    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    A minute of silence for Egyptian sports    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Syria's ailing water network could spark epidemics: ICRC
Published in Albawaba on 04 - 09 - 2015

Syria's water network, heavily damaged by bombs and shelling, is at risk of collapse as its civil war drags on, increasing the threat of deadly typhoid or cholera outbreaks, the International Committee of the Red Cross said Wednesday.
Millions of people in Aleppo and Damascus are cut off from water supplies for days at a time, a tactic used by all warring sides to exert control in divided cities, the ICRC said.
ICRC aid workers have helped water boards and engineers to maintain and repair aging pumping stations throughout Syria since the conflict began in March 2011.
"But now with the problems of electricity and with the damage being sustained by them as a result of the conflict, there is the risk from here on that these big networks do begin to fail on a permanent basis, on an irreparable basis," Patrick Hamilton, ICRC operations coordinator for the Near and Middle East, told Reuters at ICRC headquarters.
"And over the next two years we will begin to see in cities like Aleppo potentially the rise of these big health epidemics that we haven't seen in this context until now – typhoid, cholera and so on," he said.
Despite a crippled health system, Syria's population has remained "comparatively healthy" due to access to clean water, but the failure of water supply networks would spell disaster.
"You'll end up getting huge epidemics, which end up wiping out large segments of population," Hamilton said.
ISIS militants, whose stronghold is the eastern city of Raqqa, have stepped up offensives against government forces and other insurgents in Syria's north. "We have been able to send some materials to support water activities in areas under their control. A limited amount," Hamilton said.
Many of the 2 million residents in Aleppo, a major northern city, have "severe difficulty" in accessing water since pumping and electricity stations are controlled by different warring parties, the ICRC said in a statement.
The ICRC and engineers have restored 56 boreholes across Aleppo, Hamilton said. "We've been trying to alert the population through social media to the presence of these boreholes. We put out a map on Facebook and Twitter telling people in this place they can find clean water."
Marianne Gasser, ICRC delegation chief in Syria, Saturday crossed from government-held western Aleppo to eastern areas controlled by Free Syrian Army rebels and Islamist Ahrar al-Sham and Nusra Front militants to discuss the situation.
"All sides have pledged their commitment to try to ensure access to clean water to civilians on all sides," Hamilton said.


Clic here to read the story from its source.