“ States Parties recognize their duty to ensure equal access by persons with disabilities to clean water services, and to ensure access to appropriate and affordable services, devices and other assistance for disability related needs.”
Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, article 28 (extract)
Handicap & Environment
The link between environment and disability
- Every year about 5 million people worldwide die because of diseases caused by contaminated water;
- 80% of the diseases in the South are contracted by drinking or using
contaminated water. Diarrhoea is the one of the these and is known as the main cause of child mortality.
Unhealthy living conditions strongly influence the health, opportunities and safety of individuals, certainly of those individuals living in developing countries. People living in overpopulated areas such as slums and refugee camps with unhealthy and insufficient sanitary facilities are more vulnerable to diseases that can cause permanent disability.
People with disabilities living in poor conditions experience additional difficulties in accessing clean water services and sanitary facilities due to their own limited mobility and the limited accessibility of the sites. It makes them even more prone to infections and diseases. Access to clean water is one of the most fundamental rights of human kind but at the same time one of the most threatened. Protection of a healthy environment, less overpopulated living spaces and safe drinking water for all are of vital importance in the prevention of disability.
