'Safe drinking water is a basic human right.'

- (World Health Organization, 2003)

Overview

In Nepal, 6 million people do not have access to clean drinking water. The problem is even more severe in the southern Terai region where Arsenic contamination is prevalent in ground water sources. Although the Arsenic Mitigation Programme (AMP) led by a consortium of NGOs have been in place for several years, much can be improved in the conduct of educational programmes and impact measurement.

The country has one of the poorest drinking water quality and sanitation coverage in the whole of South Asia, and 80% of the country's illnesses are caused by contaminated water. In the Southern Terai region of flat land where 47% of its population lives, 90% of the people depend on ground water as their major source of drinking water.

Situation

Arsenic is odorless and tasteless. Therefore, even though drinking water contaminated with arsenic has detrimental effects on health, (link underlined to subpage on arsenic poisoning), most of the affected population are unaware of its harms. This also makes it difficult to encourage the people to go for safe water unless it is provided at convenience. Life in Terai is very tough and people continue to depend on the contaminated water for daily sustenance. To date, more than half a million people in Terai are at risk with such health problems

Arsenic Contamination

Arsenic is tasteless and exhibits no immediate side effects. Long-term exposure to this poison through drinking water and/or food can result in adverse health effects including dermal diseases such as melanosis (dark and light spots on the skin) and keratosis (hardening of skin on hands and feet); vascular diseases; birth defects; low IQ; cancer of lung, kidney, skin, and others. In the most seriously affected districts of Nawalparasi, Rupendehi, Kapilvastu, Bardiya, Kailali, Rautahat, Bara, and Parsa, the arsenic concentration found in the tube well water can be 10 to 100 times greater than the World Health Organization guideline of 0.01 mg/L.