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The opening of schools after months of closure due to the Covid-19 pandemic has brought relief to many learners but much apprehension to many others as well, including parents who worry over the safety of their children.
The availability of water at learning institutions is of crucial importance especially during this time when the country is grappling with a pandemic of such magnitude, and that requires constant washing of hands. While health and safety guidelines have been laid down and will hopefully be followed to the letter, many of the measures emphasise cleanliness and hence the importance of clean water in the fight against Covid-19.
We learn that the Government has released $30 million for the drilling of 90 boreholes across the country in selected schools. This is quite important although we believe the need is much greater than the available resources can cover. We hear development partners are also set to rehabilitate up to 1 000 boreholes to augment government efforts.
Many rural and urban areas are faced with serious water problems as a result of a poor rainfall season last year and poor pumping capacity in some instances in urban areas, whose dam levels have continued to fall leading to water rationing in many towns. We believe that Government and its partners must make the issue of water provision a priority and ensure that school children are protected not only from Covid-19, but other infections that thrive where there is poor sanitation.
Many children are already spending many hours queuing for water around towns and many at such areas do not wear any masks, and there is no social distancing at all. Our fear is that with schools opening, lack of water even at learning institutions could worsen the situation. Also, children and adults will continue to meet at boreholes and now it would be in the mornings and evenings, worsening the contact and possible spread of disease unlike before schools opening when children could draw water during the day. It is our hope that the US$3 000 pledged to each school by development partners will go a long way towards addressing the water problems, and that the drilling shall be done on time.
We also implore the authorities to put in place safeguards to ensure the funds are not abused.
The safety of children in schools, and indeed their communities, is quite crucial since failure to maintain hygiene at schools could set us back badly in our fight against many infectious diseases, Covid-19 included. Authorities should act with speed to close the gaps in water provision before such lack reverses the gains we have made in the improvement of the general health of the population.
Online Reporter