#BTSpeakingOut – Public health over political expediency

The views and opinions expressed by the author(s) do not represent the official position of Barbados TODAY.

by Michael Ray

Good health is true wealth” – Urijah Faber (1979- )  American mixed martial artist and actor.
“The first wealth is health” – Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) American Essayist and Philosopher.

The decision to reclassify a Zone 1 area is an example of “throwing caution to the wind”. It is political short-term expediency with long-term national consequences. Those who are acutely aware of potential contamination to the island’s water supply system are likely to express a measure of anxiety, angst and apprehension.

One would think that in the middle of a global pandemic, the entire Barbadian community would be highly sensitised about the importance of good personal hygiene, sanitised surroundings and the protection of a safe and uncontaminated water-supply system.

Lo and behold, a message has been sent to a section of the Barbadian community that it is okay to continue to occupy restricted Zone 1 land. There is absolutely no doubt that small developing island states, such as Barbados,  are easily and highly vulnerable to poor sanitation practices and methods that can lead to contamination of our water supply.

If the powers-that-be were serious and committed to Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG6) as agreed by world leaders in 2015, then occupants of land within Zone 1 would have been re-sited years ago, rather than a re-classification of the area. Sustainable Development Goal 6 is about “clean water and sanitation for all” and one of 17 Sustainable Development Goals established by the United Nations General Assembly with the official statement: “Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.”

The gravity of not establishing and maintaining a high quality water-supply system was highlighted in a report published this year. The United Nations under website unwater.org/water-facts/water-sanitation-and-hygiene stated as follows: “Two billion people lack access to safely managed drinking water services and 3.6 billion people lack safely managed sanitation services. Unsafe hygiene practices are widespread compounding the effects on people’s health.

There is a high yearly mortality rate of 297, 000 children under the age of five years who die from diarrhea diseases due to poor sanitation, poor hygiene or unsafe drinking water”. The report further stated: “1 in 4 people around the world (two billion people) lack safe drinking water”.

A short-term parochial and political gain should never triumph over a possible long-term national catastrophe. Barbadians have every good reason to be strict guardians of our existing water-supply system. Let the health of Barbadians be the wealth of the nation.