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Last week we introduced this month as the water month and the theme is "Water and Disasters" for this year’s World Water Day. In this article we will discuss drought, floods and diseases in the context of Swaziland.

Lack, as well as excess of water always pronounces disaster whenever and wherever it occurs. There are critical issues that come about as a result of these extremes in water availability. These include issues such as food security, health, land degradation, effect on biodiversity and even migrations.

Drought has all of a sudden acquired itself some permanent residence in the country. Loosely defined, drought is a situation of lack of water to meet basic requirements due to below normal rainfall. Arguments over the cause of the droughts will not be addressed in this column. But the obvious effect of availability anomalies necessitates a few words on the issue. Along the Lowveld, people are hard-hit by drought, failing to even produce a few grains from their fertile soils. Cattle are dying in large numbers. The death of cattle in a Swazi home robs it of its dignity and pride and leaves it without any form of security. As if the drought does less than enough harm, a flood will come after a period of no rain and instead of rejuvenating the tired plants, it crushes the plants to death, vanquishing any hope of a few cobs for survival.

Water issues are closely linked to health issues. While we have always understood the relationship between water and health, such insight could not help us make the situation any better. There has been consensus that failure to meet people’s basic needs for water and sanitation will always reflect in the overall health of the country’s people. Water is essential for health. It becomes a depressing observation that many people do not have access to adequate amount of quality water for the most basic of purposes such as drinking, cooking and bathing. Lack of water in terms of quantity or quality manifests itself in illnesses and even deaths of people. It has been reported lately that at least 16 people have died of cholera in the country since its outbreak in December 2003. Lack of clean water has also contributed in the high rates of infant mortality in developing countries. Quality water is critical for people with compromised immunity such as HIV-positive individuals and children under 5 years old. Water is a fundamental ingredient in issues of hygiene and sanitation, conditions that are imperative for people with debilitated immunity.

HIV/Aids, a disaster on its own has impacted negatively on the water users. When Aids attacks breadwinners, it reduces the family’s ability to pay water fees. Families find themselves with no money as more money is used to pay for medical expenses. When water expenses compete with medical bills, priority is given to acquire medication. More often than not people revert to unprotected water sources, which render the effort of acquiring medication futile as well as exposing the family to water borne diseases.

People suffering from Aids and their carers find themselves unable to spend time and energy on water resources management at community level, and when participation is lacking at the basin level, the entire structure of water management becomes ineffectual. This is made even worse by the mushrooming of child-headed households resulting from this pandemic. These child family heads are unlikely to participate in the communal management of water resources, infact they are most of the time unacquainted with matters having to do with operation and maintenance of water. All these exacerbate an already unpromising situation.

Watch this column for subsequent articles addressing water and disasters in Swaziland.