The Kenyan people maintain a thirst for safe water as climate change has an increased impact

The global climate crisis raises concern as Kenya’s supply of water dwindles, leaving the Kenyan people to seek out unsafe water sources.  As water pollution, insufficient use, and the degradation of natural water resources increase, illnesses become more common among the Kenyan people, and the nation’s healthcare system is put to the test, according to american.edu.  However, due to a lack of investment, infrastructure, and staff, as climate change worsens, so does the nation’s ability to help and accommodate its people, according to hrw.org.

The inability to prevent the contamination of water leads to water-borne, water-based, and water-washed diseases that threaten the health of the Kenyan people.  Water-based diseases such as malaria are one of the primary health risks in the nation and are set to increase as climate change worsens, according to american.edu.  With this decline in the earth’s climate, water sources from the nation are increasingly affected, leaving the Kenyan people lacking in options and prone to illness.   A local school teacher in Kenya talked of the health issues many children and adults face due to increased water contamination when talking with Human Rights Watch, according to hrw.org.

“When it rained, there was the problem of mosquitoes because mosquitoes spread malaria,” a teacher at a local school in Kenya told Human Rights Watch, according to hrw.org.  “There is the problem of the river.  The water that came recently, when the children drink from it, their chest problems increase.  Problems increase every season.”

Featured Image by Zara Black ’23