Study Session 2  Water and Public Health

2.3  Common diseases associated with water in Ethiopia

The government of Ethiopia is taking steps to improve the quality of water supply in urban areas of the country, but many people suffer from communicable diseases associated with water. Data from Harari Region are used here as an example. Table 2.2 shows the diseases that were most prevalent in Harari Region in 2013/2014.

Table 2.2  The prevalence of diseases associated with water in Harari Region in 2013/2014. (Harari Regional Health Bureau, 2014)

Disease Number of people affected
Diarrhoeal diseases (e.g. rotavirus infection, cholera) 6345
Malaria 3861
Infection by intestinal parasites 462
Trachoma 432
Amoebic dysentery 365

The sections that follow describe these diseases in more detail.