 | | Community members are trained as presidentes de rua, or street presidents, in Paraisópolis. Photo courtesy of Gilson Rodrigues. |
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| In Brazil, favela residents are taking action against societal inequalities exposed by the coronavirus.
As long as there is no vaccine or treatment for Covid-19, prevention is the best cure. Hand washing and other hygienic practices are crucial to stopping the spread of the virus. These actions, however, are nearly impossible for many people living in some of Brazil’s coronavirus hotspots.
The story of Paraisópolis, the second largest favela in São Paulo, illustrates the lengthy struggle for water. An initiative to increase access to water and sanitation in the informal settlement began in 2010, only to be left partially complete. |
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 | | A group of Zambians collecting water at the commercial kiosks. Photo © NGO WASH Forum. |
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| The coronavirus has yet to peak in Zambia, but observers worry about the country’s ability to fight a disease surge.
Many Zambians have to leave home to acquire water. In urban areas, residents rely on water kiosks that are supplied by commercial utilities. Residents pay by the 20-liter container. That turns water use into an economic decision: use the water for drinking or handwashing?
The cost of water for individuals in the country can be difficult to afford. Some 58 percent of Zambians earn less than the international poverty line of $1.90 per day. |
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| Like many other countries, Burkina Faso implemented measures to keep infection rates low. Markets were shut down and a curfew was implemented, while calls for social distancing and proper handwashing spread from Ouahigouya to Logobou to Bobo-Dioulasso. When the markets shut down in Burkina Faso, many people in rural communities and in cities lost their daily income. Money that would have come at the end of the market day stopped and small business owners could no longer afford food, let alone amenities such as soap.
Those without personal water taps can get water from community pumps, yet there were also water cuts to the pumps. The country’s dry season, between January and April, usually results in water cuts, but this time was different. Some people, but not all, could afford to stock water at home. And in rural communities, where people may walk miles to gather a few gallons of water for the day, residents might not use their limited supply for handwashing. |
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The volume of Covid-19 news can be overwhelming. We've started a live blog, updated throughout the day, to help you sort through it. It's a library for how water, sanitation, and hygiene connect to the pandemic, both in the US and globally.
Featured Covid-19 + water coverage from this week include: |
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Nearly 2,000 people on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation in central Oregon have been ordered to boil their water for the last several weeks due to a broken pipe that decreased water pressure for a substantial portion of the reservation. |
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What's Up With Water - July 20, 2020
For the news you need to start the week, tune into “What’s Up With Water” fresh on Monday’s on iTunes, Spotify, iHeart Radio, and SoundCloud.
This week's episode features coverage on the Nile, where there was confusion last week over the status of a controversial new hydropower dam on a major tributary.
Additional international reporting looks at the Yangtze River in southern China, where communities continue to endure the worst flooding in decades.
For news in the United States, in the Great Lakes region of the United States, rising water levels have eased a bit.
Finally, in this week's featured story Circle of Blue reports on an experiment in Phoenix that is an alternative to shutting off water to homeowners who are behind on their bills. You can listen to the latest edition of What's Up With Water, as well as all past editions, by downloading the podcasts on iTunes, following Circle of Blue on Spotify, following on iHeart Radio, and subscribing on SoundCloud. |
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| From Circle of Blue's Archives: |
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 | In Portelinha, sanitation is limited to makeshift pipes that channel sewage into nearby canals and streams.
Photo © J. Carl Ganter / Circle of Blue |
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| Those living in Portelinha, a favela in São Paulo, are among the roughly 40 percent of the world’s population that are affected each day by water scarcity and pollution. According to a UN-World Bank study, some 700 million people could be migrating — many to cities — in search of water by 2030. |
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