The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a country located in the heart of Africa. It has an ample amount of water due to the rivers and fresh water abundance but has been in a water shortage crisis for nearly three decades now. The Democratic Republic of the Congo has several social, economic and environmental issues associated with its water shortage. The country is prone to seasonal droughts in the southern regions and seasonal flooding of the Congo river. They have plenty of water but most of it is considered undrinkable because of the pollution and diseases carried in the rivers. Additionally, the increase in the mining of minerals, like diamonds and gold, has spiked a peak in environmental threats. Even worse, the Democratic Republic …show more content…
(Partow, 6) Global Issues stated that this was the deadliest conflict since World War II. A clear majority of this conflict has been related to diseases transmitted by polluted drinking water and children often carry the burden. Of the total deaths since 1998, children accounted for 47% of them and 45,000 people die monthly. (Shah) The violence in this war-torn nation has quite literally torn apart this country’s infrastructure and has left millions of people without access to clean drinking water.
Next, economically, the Democratic Republic of the Congo is in a shattered state after the war. They are constantly fighting inflation and often do not have the financial backing to solve many of their big issues. In the capital city, Kinshasa, over 2 million people live on less that one US dollar per day. In the rural areas, some people live on less than two US dimes. (Shah) The Democratic Republic of the Congo’s national government is still wrestling for control of the country and they literally lack the funds to rebuild the infrastructure. Furthermore, less economically developed countries often lack a regulatory national structure for construction expenditure and insurance so that when everything was destroyed there was no collateral to fix the destruction. In UNEP’s study, the estimated the cost of rebuilding the country’s infrastructure was $2 billion and that was just to meet the Millennium Development Goals Water Target.
The economy was projected to grow at 8.5% from 2011 to 2015. However, the economy only grew at a rate of 2.5% (Kreckel). The inability to reach the projected growth contributes to the nation’s poverty. This is because in the colonial era, no money was made or spent by the people, impacting the nation today. Additionally, the Republic of Congo has the lowest household average salary in the world of $270 per month (“DR Congo”). Again, the low salary can be blamed on King Leopold as he took all the wealth for himself and gave none to the people. Although trade was good under Leopold’s rule, as an independent nation it has dramatically decreased. In 2015, the Republic of Congo made $5.2 million in exports (“The World FactBook”). In the time of imperialism, Leopold made $100 million in exports; which in today’s dollars would be equivalent to 2.9 billion dollars (Kreckel). Today, the Republic of Congo’s economy is struggling. 87% of woman are living off of $1.45 a day (“The World Factbook”). From the time of colonialism to now, the daily amount that people can spend has only increased from $.25 to $1.45. Within 109 years, the Congo has still been unable to make a drastic change in their society. Due to King Leopold’s actions, the people had nothing under his control and still have little
That “over 1 billion people lack access to safe water supplies;” and that “2.6 billion people lack adequate sanitation.” (WHO, 2005)
South Sudan has valuable oil and other resources as well as other Sub-Saharan countries, but the water issues causes lack of trade and unrest that spreads across the entirety of Africa and other continents. The issue of water does not exist only in South Sudan but across the world, and the end must begin somewhere, and it might as well be a dramatic example of the benefits of clean water in a place like South Sudan. The issue of accessible and clean water is relevant, because the issue provides issues in trying to pursue development in in third world countries. The development of third world countries, would benefit the entire world from a health and development standpoint. Unclean water causes issues of hunger, diseases, and conflict and
Many populations, the majority being in Africa, face many water-borne diseases mainly due to pollution of water resources. The option then becomes to either drink polluted water or not have anything at all. Continual Human development such as population growth and industrial growth have further drained water resources, causing a shortage of drinking water. As a result, there are many conflicts over ownership of water resources and these lead to injuries or fatalities.(2) As mentioned before, this shows why it is so important to find a solution to the issue of water shortage.
With a 2.42% growth, Congo is sparsely populated country due to its vast land. The economy has been undermined by decades of war, poor economic management, and early colonial exploitation. The country has a diversity of minerals, such as diamonds; gold, uranium, cobalt, coltan, and copper just to name a few.15 At least in this age of electronic devices, the world depends on the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) because we use all the devices that use rechargeable batteries; DRC produced about half cobalt in the global requirements. Despite apparent advantage of its natural resources the world needs, the country is impoverished. In fact, DRC has one of the lowest per capita incomes of $800 and the majority of Congolese live with less than a dollar a day.15 Much of the blame for the sad state can be attributed to early colonial exploitation, ethnic divisions and wars from neighboring
Geography does affect a country's inhabitant's way of life. For example, the people living in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Zaire) are undoubtedly influenced by the geography. This country is in the middle of the continent of Africa where there is most of a huge rain forest and most of one of the most major rivers in Africa. These two physical features majorly depict the way of life of the citizens within this huge country. Most of the second largest rain forest in the world lies within the border. Also, most of the Congo River flows inside this country. There are plenty of ways that only these two physical features can play such a huge role in the shaping and the future of this country.
The West African nation of Niger has experienced one of the worst water crisis in the world that has left the population malnourished and in poverty. Location, climate and political instability can be attributed to the water scarcity, which not only leaves the nation lacking water, but in a state of underdevelopment. However, many non-government organisations have supported the nation and its people.
claimed many lives of children under five. The lack of preventive measures such as clean water and
The lack of water can cause wars and fighting among countries. Water will become more important than anything else when there is no more water. In the Article “ Why global water shortages pose threat of terror and war”, Susan Goldenberg wrote “At an international water conference in Abu Dhabi last year, Crown Prince General Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan
Over a period from 1960-1965, the first Republic of the Congo experienced a period of serious crisis. There was a terrible war for power that displayed senseless violence and the desperation to rule. There were many internal conflicts among the people. The country eventually gained independence from Belgium. For many countries this would be a time for celebration. Unfortunately for the people of the Congo this became a time to forget. Almost immediately after independence and the general elections, the country went into civil war. Major developed cities like Katanga and Kasai wanted to be independent from the Lumumba government. Different factions started to fight the government and Katanga and Kasai tried to secede from the rest
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is the second lowest country in GDP per capita. In the Congo, there are different rebels groups that have been attacking and terrorizing the people in the country. Soon understanding why and who does this will be easy to comprehend. The rebellions have a negative impact on the Democratic Republic of the Congo because of terrorism, crime and violence, and assassinating Politicans.
Critics of my opinion also raise valid arguments which could be accepted as an alternative. First, many scientists argue that the industrialization of Congo has helped the country more than hurt it. Providing jobs for many unemployed people and providing economic stability to a third world country, scientists contend that industrial factories greatly help the economy and the country itself (Komendantova, et al. n.p.). Though these points have validity, these scientists have overlooked the hardships it causes the people. Industrialization, much like any other mega producer, comes with great drawbacks. The effects it has on the people far outweigh the possibilities it presents. Though it produces much of the country’s income, the people are the one’s who ultimately pay the price. Furthermore, scientists assert that stormwater runoff provides a sustainable water source and irrigation alternative ( Nnadi, et al. n.p.). Though both of these are true, stormwater runoff has deadly effects when allowed into used water sources.
To address something as complex as the water crisis, one must first examine the current condition of the problem. Currently, the water crisis is being driven by three things. First, many governments in Africa are not interested in investing in nationwide plumbing. That is either because they are not able to afford the cost of laying the info structure or they can afford it but feel no need to invest that much. Even if a country can afford to install plumbing, generally, plumbing is only installed in urban areas and has little to no effect on those living in rural Africa. Second, many large companies buy out water rights and use them to dump toxic chemicals with no oversight. The result is that there is less water considered drinkable. Furthermore, this can ruin long time water sources for people that may be nowhere near the business. Third, some companies who buy out water rights sell the water back to the people. Often times, they charge outrageous prices that the majority of citizens cannot afford. As a result, previously free water is now double the average income per day.
And drinking water is the story of humanity’s future. The greatest threat to human well-being in the world today is not climate change, AIDS, or warfare. Unsafe drinking water is the single largest killer in the world. Roughly half of the developing world suffers from illnesses caused by contaminated water supplies. No surprise, then, that the history of drinking water highlights the most pressing issues of our time from globalization, social justice, and commerce to terrorism, national security, and technology.
Have you ever heard that water-related diseases cause a death of child every 21 seconds? To sum up, you will find out that there would be 4320 deaths every day, and approximately 1.5 million deaths annually (Prois). Isn’t it a consternating statistic for you? 60 to 70% of a human body is made out of one of the vital elements – water. Therefore, we can survive without food for three weeks, but not water. It is an absolutely different story because every single living cell in a human body does need water for functioning. Thus, you can imagine how miserable the situation in the rural area in Africa is. Apart from that, a bottle of the polluted water can kill Africans because it contains many different kinds of viruses and bacteria. In