Cameroon
Water in Developing Countries
Climate Review
The mean annual temperature range is between the low 70s and low 80s F. Depending on elevation, this temp range can fluctuate. Precipitation decreases from North to South as you get farther away from the equator. Their are wet and dry seasons. The wet season is caused by a tropical air mass coming from the Atlantic. The warm season originates in the Sahara from a tropical air mass. The wet season lasts form April to November, and the dry season lasts from December to to March. The transition period between March and April consists of violent winds. The annual precipitation level is about 100 inches.
Population
21,170,000
Main Source of Water
Nyong River
Lake Chad
Taking water from these sources is making the shortage problem worse.
Water Problems
The main water problem in Cameroon is a shortage of water. Taps in the most parts of the city has run dry. It is so bad that the government has to ration the water out. There is only enough water to sustain half of the capital city, Yaounde. If the citizens can not make it to the capital to wait in the ridiculously long line or to military barracks to get their rationing, they turn to wells. Most can not get sustainable water because the can not rely on the condition of the water. As the city runs dry, the bottled mineral water industry is booming.
How They Get Water
It is rationed by the government. Some can get water bottles from businesses or outside contributors.
Quality of Water
The quality is not great. The "Nkomyanda water treatment station, supplies 100,000 cubic meters a day, while the Akumnyada treatment center produces just 100 cubic meters" (trust.org). This is almost overworking the water station. There is clean water available at a high price but a majority of the drinking water is unsafe and has been proven to cause many diarrhoeal diseases.
Efforts Being Made to Improve the Water
Originally the rationing was seen as an improvement but it has not been successful. It is causing a lot of tension and problems. As of now, government action is increasing. It is hopefully going to improve because "in 2012, the government approved a water investment program worth over 600 million euros ($785 million) as part of a broader economic development effort" (trust.org).
Programs and Associations
So far the Cameroon government is the biggest organization involved but the organization, Plan, has become involved with the diseases cause by this water shortage.
Sources
"Cameroon". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2014. Web. 17 Nov. 2014
<http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/90925/Cameroon>.
Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2014. Web. 17 Nov. 2014
<http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/90925/Cameroon>.
"Cameroon Capital Suffers Water Shortage." VOA. Voice of Africa, 24 Feb. 2014. Web. 17 Nov. 2014. <http://www.voanews.com/content/cameroon-capital-suffers-water-shortage/1858215.html>.
"As Dry Periods Worsen, Cameroon's Government Rations Water." As Dry Periods Worsen, Cameroon's Government Rations Water. Thomson Reuters Foundation, 6 June 2013. Web. 17 Nov. 2014. <http://www.trust.org/item/20130605150350-0j2ws/>.
Yongsi, H. Blaise Nguendo. "Abstract." National Center for Biotechnology Information. U.S. National Library of Medicine, 31 Mar. 0006. Web. 17 Nov. 2014.