Conversion of seaweed waste to biochar for the removal of heavy metal ions from aqueous solution: A sustainable method to address eutrophication problem in water bodies.

The present study investigated the sustainable approach for wastewater treatment using waste algal blooms. The current study investigated the removal of toxic metals namely chromium (Cr), nickel (Ni), and zinc (Zn) from aqueous solutions in batch and column studies using biochar produced by the marine algae Ulva reticulata. SEM/EDX, FTIR, and XRD were used to examine the adsorbents' properties and stability. The removal efficiency of toxic metals in batch operations was investigated by varying the parameters, which included pH, biochar dose, initial metal ion concentration, and contact time. Similarly, in the column study, the removal efficiency of heavy metal ions was investigated by varying bed height, flow rate, and initial metal ion concentration. Response Surface Methodology (Central Composite Design (CCD)) was used to confirm the linearity between the observed and estimated values of the adsorption quantity. The packed bed column demonstrated successful removal rates of 90.38% for Cr, 91.23% for Ni, and 89.92% for Zn heavy metals from aqueous solutions, under a controlled environment. The breakthrough analysis also shows that the Thomas and Adams-Bohart models best fit the regression values, allowing prior breakthroughs in the packed bed column to be predicted. Desorption studies were conducted to understand sorption and elution during different regeneration cycles. Adding 0.3 N sulfuric acid over 40 min resulted in the highest desorption rate of the column and adsorbent used for all three metal ions.

High efficiency azo dye removal via a combination of adsorption and photocatalytic processes using heterojunction Titanium dioxide nanoparticles on hierarchical porous carbon.

Amidst the rapid development of the textile industry, wastewater problems also arise. High-performance materials for reactive black 5 (RB5) dye treatment by adsorption and photocatalysis were evolved using Titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles on carbon media. Herein, the synthesis of spherical carbon via the water-in-oil emulsion method alongside a sol-gel process and the production of TiO2 nanoparticles using the precipitation procedure of Titanium isopropoxide and carbonization at 700-900 °C for 2 h are a novel approach in this work. The characterization of these materials indicates that different temperatures result in distinct properties, for instance, raised pores on the surface of the media and changes in the crystal structure of TiO2. The results show that the as-synthesized material carbonized at 900 °C had distinguished dye adsorption, up to 430 ppm in 1 h, due to their high surface area and pore volume. On the contrary, the calcined 700 °C condition had the prominent photocatalytic efficiency on account of the heterojunction band gap between anatase and rutile crystal structure. A mixed phase minimizes the charge recombination, subsequently increasing the photocatalytic capability.

Water, environment, and health nexus: understanding the risk factors for waterborne diseases in communities along the Tano River Basin, Ghana.

Freshwater pollution is a major concern in Ghana, directly impacting human health. However, the underlying drivers of exposure and risks are not comprehensively understood, emphasizing the severity and impact of these diseases. This study assessed the interaction between water and human health, specifically focusing on the risk factors for waterborne diseases and the drivers of water pollution among residents near the Tano River Basin, Ghana. A sample size of 400 households was selected from five communities within the basin based on their proximity to the Tano River. In addition, the study combined both spatial and non-spatial data sources to map potential flood zones for the basin. The study found that inadequate sanitation, poor hygiene practices, and contamination from illegal mining were the primary causative factors of waterborne diseases. Additionally, floods and improper waste management significantly contributed to disease outbreaks. The flood susceptibility analysis indicated that areas highly susceptible to flooding cover 21.2% of the basin, predominantly in the southern part. The results highlight the urgent need for comprehensive interventions to address the drivers of waterborne diseases. This study will contribute to the local authorities in developing plans to prevent waterborne diseases and mitigate their economic and public health impacts.

A scoping review of the links between early childhood caries and clean water and sanitation: the Sustainable Development Goal 6.

INTRODUCTION: The United Nation's Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 calls for universal access to clean water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), which are crucial elements of health and well-being and fundamental for a life in dignity. Early childhood caries (ECC) is a preventable disease affecting health and quality of life of millions of young children worldwide. This scoping review aims to explore the connection between ECC and access to clean water and sanitation. METHODS: This scoping review, registered on the Open Science Framework and following PRISMA-ScR guidelines, conducted a thorough search in databases (PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, Google Scholar, SciELO) and websites (via Google) in November 2023. The search, without date limitations, targeted studies in English and Spanish linking ECC to SDG6. Exclusions were made for studies solely focusing on ECC without a direct connection to clean water and sanitation. Descriptive statistics summarized the retrieved papers. RESULTS: The initial search yielded 303 articles. After removing duplicates, 264 articles remained for title and abstract screening after which 244 were excluded and one report was added through citation searching. The 21 remaining articles underwent full text review. There were no studies on a direct association between access to clean water and sanitation and the prevalence of ECC. There were nine studies that showed indirect associations between ECC and access to clean water and sanitation through the links of: water and sanitation access as a marker for poverty (n = 1), water consumption as a feeding practice (n = 4), and the effectiveness of water fluoridation (n = 4). These were used to develop a conceptual model. CONCLUSIONS: While it is conceivable that a direct link exists between ECC and access to clean water and sanitation, the available body of research only offers evidence of indirect associations. The exploration of potential pathways connecting water access to ECC warrants further investigation in future research.

Enhancing chromium removal and recovery from industrial wastewater using sustainable and efficient nanomaterial: A review.

Water contamination can be detrimental to the human health due to higher concentration of carcinogenic heavy metals such as chromium (Cr) in the wastewater. Many traditional methods are being employed in wastewater treatment plants for Cr removal to control the environmental impacts. Such methods include ion exchange, coagulation, membrane filtration, and chemical precipitation and microbial degradation. Recent advances in materials science and green chemistry have led to the development of nanomaterial that possess high specific surface areas and multiple functions, making them suitable for removing metals such as Cr from wastewater. Literature shows that the most efficient, effective, clean, and long-lasting approach for removing heavy metals from wastewater involves adsorbing heavy metals onto the surface of nanomaterial. This review assesses the removal methods of Cr from wastewater, advantages and disadvantages of using nanomaterial to remove Cr from wastewater and potential negative impacts on human health. The latest trends and developments in Cr removal strategies using nanomaterial adsorption are also explored in the present review.

Diarrheal disease and associations with water access and sanitation in Indigenous Shawi children along the Armanayacu River basin in Peru.

INTRODUCTION: Diarrheal disease, particularly in children under 5 years old, remains a global health challenge due to its high prevalence and chronic health consequences. Public health interventions that reduce diarrheal disease risk include improving access to water, sanitation, and hygiene. Although Peru achieved the 2015 Millennium Development Goal (MDG) indicators for water access, less progress was achieved on sanitation. Furthermore, many Indigenous Peoples were overlooked in the MDG indicators, resulting in a prioritization of Indigenous Peoples in the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of childhood diarrhea, characterize access to water and sanitation, and determine the association of childhood diarrhea with water access and sanitation indicators in 10 Shawi Indigenous communities along the Armanayacu River in the Peruvian Amazon. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey (n=82) that captured data on diarrheal disease, sociodemographic variables, and water and sanitation exposures was conducted in 10 Shawi communities. Nutritional status of children under 5 was also assessed via physical examination. Descriptive and comparative statistics were conducted. RESULTS: A small proportion (n=7; 8.54%) of participating children reported an episode of diarrhea in the previous month. Almost half (46.30%) of participating children had stunting, wasting, or both. Although not statistically significant, children living in households that used latrines were 4.29 times (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.01-18.19) more likely to report an episode of diarrhea than children living in households that practiced open defecation. Although not statistically significant, children living in households that used water treatment methods were 4.25 times (95%CI 0.54-33.71) more likely to report an episode of diarrhea than children living in households that did not. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of childhood diarrhea was lower for Shawi than for other Amazon areas. The higher prevalence of childhood diarrhea in households that used latrines and water treatments warrants further investigation into local risk and protective factors. These Shawi communities scored low for the WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme indicators for water and sanitation, indicating that they should be prioritized in future water, sanitation, and hygiene initiatives. Research will be required to understand and incorporate local Indigenous values and cultural practices into water, sanitation, and hygiene initiatives to maximize intervention uptake and effectiveness.

Meeting the Water and Sanitation Challenges of Underbounded Communities in the U.S.

Water and sanitation (wastewater) infrastructure in the United States is aging and deteriorating, with massive underinvestment over the past several decades. For many years, lack of attention to water and sanitation infrastructure has combined with racial segregation and discrimination to produce uneven access to water and wastewater services resulting in growing threats to human and environmental health. In many metropolitan areas in the U.S., those that often suffer disproportionately are residents of low-income, minority communities located in urban disadvantaged unincorporated areas on the margins of major cities. Through the process of underbounding (the selective expansion of city boundaries to exclude certain neighborhoods often based on racial demographics or economics), residents of these communities are disallowed municipal citizenship and live without piped water, sewage lines, and adequate drainage or flood control. This Perspective identifies the range of water and sanitation challenges faced by residents in these communities. We argue that future investment in water and sanitation should prioritize these communities and that interventions need to be culturally context sensitive. As such, approaches to address these problems must not only be technical but also social and give attention to the unique geographic and political setting of local infrastructures.

Decomposing inequality of opportunity in child health in Tanzania: The role of access to water and sanitation.

Poor child nutrition is a major public health challenge in Tanzania. Large between and within regional nutritional inequalities exist in rural and urban areas. We looked at how locational circumstances hinder children from having an equal opportunity for good nutrition. We used the 2008/09 Living Standards Measurement Study data for Tanzania to identify the part played by water and sanitation in rural and urban inequality of opportunity in child nutrition. We used the dissimilarity index and the Shapley decomposition technique to quantify and decompose inequality of opportunity in nutrition. We find that 16% of the circumstance-driven inequality of opportunity needs to be redistributed for equality of opportunity to prevail. We find that in rural areas, about 42% of the inequality of opportunity in nutrition is due to water and sanitation problems and 22% to child age. In urban areas, we find that the inequality of opportunity is related mainly to the child's sex, price fluctuations and intergenerational factors. The findings suggest that policies to improve water and sanitation coverage could help equalize opportunities for children in rural areas. In urban areas, policies that could help equalize opportunities require incentives to change social norms and behavior around feeding practices and vaccination.

India's achievement towards sustainable Development Goal 6 (Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all) in the 2030 Agenda.

BACKGROUND: Clean water and sanitation are global public health issues. Safe drinking water and sanitation are essential, especially for children, to prevent acute and chronic illness death and sustain a healthy life. The UN General Assembly announced the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 targets for the 2030 Agenda on 25 September 2015. SDG 6 is very important because it affects other SDG (1, 2,3,5,11,14 and 15). The present study deals with the national and state-wise analysis of the current status and to access deficiency of India's achievement towards SDG 6 (clean water and sanitation for all) for the 2030 agenda based on targets 6.1, 6.2,6.4,6.6 from 2012 to 2020. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Data of different indicators of SDG 6 are collected from different secondary sources-NSS 69th (2012) and 76th (2018) round; CGWB annual report 2016-2017 and 2018-2019; NARSS (2019-2020); SBM-Grameen (2020). To understand overall achievement towards SDG 6 in the 2030 agenda, the goal score (arithmetic mean of normalised value) has been calculated. MAJOR FINDINGS: According to NSS data, 88.7% of Indian households had enough drinking water from primary drinking water sources throughout the year, while 79.8% of households had access to toilet facilities in 2018. As per the 2019-2021 goal score for States and UTs in rural India based on SDG 6 indicator, SDG 6 achiever States and UTs (100%) are Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh, Andaman and Nicobar Islands. CONCLUSION: Drinking water and sanitation for all ensure a healthy life. It is a matter of concern for the government, policymakers, and people to improve the condition where the goal score and indicator value of SDG 6 are low.

Impact of poverty reduction on access to water and sanitation in low- and lower-middle-income countries: country-specific Bayesian projections to 2030.

BACKGROUND: In 2017, 785 million people globally lacked access to basic services of drinking water and 2 billion people lived without basic sanitation services. Most of these people live in low- and lower-middle-income countries in South Asia, Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. To monitor the progress towards universal access to water and sanitation, this study aimed to predict the coverage of access to basic drinking water supply and sanitation (WSS) services as well as the reduction in the practice of open defecation by 2030, under two assumptions: following the current trends and accelerated poverty reduction. METHODS AND FINDINGS: Households reporting access to basic WSS services and those practising open defecation were extracted from 210 nationally representative Demographic Health Surveys and Multiple Cluster Indicator Surveys (1994-2016) from 51 countries. A Bayesian hierarchical mixed effect linear regression model was developed to predict the indicators in 2030 at national, urban-rural and wealth-specific levels. A Bayesian regression model with accelerated reduction in poverty by 2030 was applied to assess the impact of poverty reduction on these indicators. Out of 51 countries, only nine (Bangladesh, Bhutan, Ghana, India, Nepal, Pakistan, The Philippines, Togo and Vietnam) were predicted to reach over 90% coverage in access to basic services of drinking water by 2030. However, none of the countries were projected to achieve equivalent coverage for access to basic sanitation services. By 2030, 21 countries were projected to achieve the target of less than 10% households practising open defecation. Urban-rural and wealth-derived disparities in access to basic WSS services, especially sanitation, were more pronounced in sub-Saharan Africa than South Asia and Southeast Asia. Access to basic sanitation services was projected to benefit more from poverty reduction than access to basic drinking water services. Households residing in rural settings were predicted to receive greater benefit from poverty reduction than urban populations in access to both basic WSS services. CONCLUSION: Achieving poverty eradication targets may have a substantial positive impact on access to basic water supply and sanitation services. However, many low- and lower-middle-income countries will struggle to achieve the goal of universal access to basic services, especially in the sanitation sector.

Carbon-based adsorbents for fluoroquinolone removal from water and wastewater: A critical review.

This review summarizes the adsorptive removal of Fluoroquinolones (FQ) from water and wastewater. The influence of different physicochemical parameters on the adsorptive removal of FQ-based compounds is detailed. Further, the mechanisms involved in the adsorption of FQ-based antibiotics on various adsorbents are succinctly described. As the first of its kind, this paper emphasizes the performance of each adsorbent for FQ-type antibiotic removal based on partition coefficients of the adsorbents that is a more sensitive parameter than adsorption capacity for comparing the performances of adsorbents under various adsorbate concentrations and heterogeneous environmental conditions. It was found that π-π electron donor-acceptor interactions, electrostatic interactions, and pore-filling were the most prominent mechanisms for FQ adsorption by carbon and clay-based adsorbents. Among all the categories of adsorbents reviewed, graphene showed the highest performance for the removal of FQ antibiotics from water and wastewater. Based on the current state of knowledge, this review fills the gap through methodolically understanding the mechanism for further improvement of FQ antibiotics adsorption performance from water and wastewater.

Recent advances in photodegradation of antibiotic residues in water.

Antibiotics are widely present in the environment due to their extensive and long-term use in modern medicine. The presence and dispersal of these compounds in the environment lead to the dissemination of antibiotic residues, thereby seriously threatening human and ecosystem health. Thus, the effective management of antibiotic residues in water and the practical applications of the management methods are long-term matters of contention among academics. Particularly, photocatalysis has attracted extensive interest as it enables the treatment of antibiotic residues in an eco-friendly manner. Considerable progress has been achieved in the implementation of photocatalytic treatment of antibiotic residues in the past few years. Therefore, this review provides a comprehensive overview of the recent developments on this important topic. This review primarily focuses on the application of photocatalysis as a promising solution for the efficient decomposition of antibiotic residues in water. Particular emphasis was laid on improvement and modification strategies, such as augmented light harvesting, improved charge separation, and strengthened interface interaction, all of which enable the design of powerful photocatalysts to enhance the photocatalytic removal of antibiotics.

Disparate on-site access to water, sanitation, and food storage heighten the risk of COVID-19 spread in Sub-Saharan Africa.

COVID-19 is an active pandemic that likely poses an existential threat to humanity. Frequent handwashing, social distancing, and partial or total lockdowns are among the suite of measures prescribed by the World Health Organization (WHO) and being implemented across the world to contain the pandemic. However, existing inequalities in access to certain basic necessities of life (water, sanitation facility, and food storage) create layered vulnerabilities to COVID-19 and can render the preventive measures ineffective or simply counterproductive. We hypothesized that individuals in households without any of the named basic necessities of life are more likely to violate the preventive (especially lockdown) measures and thereby increase the risk of infection or aid the spread of COVID-19. Based on nationally-representative data for 25 sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries, multivariate statistical and geospatial analyses were used to investigate whether, and to what extent, household family structure is associated with in-house access to basic needs which, in turn, could reflect on a higher risk of COVID-19 infection. The results indicate that approximately 46% of the sampled households in these countries (except South Africa) did not have in-house access to any of the three basic needs and about 8% had access to all the three basic needs. Five countries had less than 2% of their households with in-house access to all three basic needs. Ten countries had over 50% of their households with no in-house access to all the three basic needs. There is a social gradient in in-house access between the rich and the poor, urban and rural richest, male- and female-headed households, among others. We conclude that SSA governments would need to infuse innovative gender- and age-sensitive support services (such as water supply, portable sanitation) to augment the preventive measures prescribed by the WHO. Short-, medium- and long-term interventions within and across countries should necessarily address the upstream, midstream and downstream determinants of in-house access and the full spectrum of layers of inequalities including individual, interpersonal, institutional, and population levels.

Toward Control? The Prospects and Challenges of Typhoid Conjugate Vaccine Introduction.

With a newly World Health Organization (WHO)-prequalified typhoid conjugate vaccine (TCV), Gavi funding for eligible countries, and a WHO policy recommendation for TCV use, now is the time for countries to introduce TCVs as part of an integrated typhoid control program, particularly in light of the increasing burden of antimicrobial resistance. Continued vaccine development efforts will lead to secure supply of low-cost vaccines, and ongoing vaccine studies will provide critical vaccine performance data and inform optimal deployment strategies, in both routine use and in outbreak settings. TCV programs should include thoughtful communication planning and community engagement to counter vaccine hesitancy.

Analysing progress of sustainable development goal 6 in India: Past, present, and future.

The attainment of sustainable development in water and sanitation i.e. Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6) requires a comprehensive monitoring and knowledge base of social and economic water needs at national scale in such a way that should not cause negative environmental manifestations from regional to global scale. India holds a key position among developing economies with a complex interconnected web of fast-growing population, coupled with biophysical stress, social deprivation and economic inequality related to utilization, availability and access to water resources and sanitation facilities. This study addresses some of these challenges related to monitoring and implementation of the targets of the UN SDG 6 in India. Acknowledging the contribution of society and economy in sustainability paradigm, here we have chosen 28 indicators (clustered into 11 dimensions) under two major groups, concerning biophysical and social development aspects of water and sanitation. We have shown declining level of per capita biophysical water resource and slow to rapidly developing societal indicators related to SDG 6 in India. From past trends, we have calculated probable scenario of biophysical consumption of India up to 2050. We have also analysed the interrelationship of water and sanitation (SDG 6) with health (SDG 3) and end to poverty (SDG 1) in India. These show a positive impact of increasing per capita GDP on improving sanitation related indicators, which in turn positively influence to reduce water and sanitation related diseases, especially in children and aged population. This cumulative assessment framework contributes a tool to prioritize water resource appropriation and assessment of sanitation, management response and policy implementations to national level inclusive sustainability of water and sanitation sector, keeping in mind the societal and economic development scenario in India.

Cholera as a 'sanitary test' of British cities, 1831-1866.

The malign contribution of northern industrial cities to the stagnation of national life expectancy over the period 1820-1870 forms part of one of the most long-running debates in English economic history, regarding the impact of early industrialisation on living standards. The deteriorating quality of urban water supplies often features in these arguments as the key driver of worsening mortality in this period. Here we use mortality reported from cholera in the epidemic years 1831-1832 and 1848-1849 as an indicator of the extent of sewage contamination of water in English and Welsh towns in this period. Surprisingly, the geography of reported mortality did not indicate that northern manufacturing and industrial towns were especially deficient in this respect. However, logistic regression analyses identified a number of risk factors for high cholera mortality, including location on coal-bearing strata, which was a feature of many industrial towns. Notably, however, textile-manufacturing towns, although often located in coal-rich districts, were associated with low levels of cholera mortality, and high population growth rates did not influence the risk of cholera. Reductions in cholera mortality after 1849 raise the possibility of widespread improvements in water quality after mid-century, rather earlier than is often assumed. However, in contrast to cholera, infant and diarrhoeal mortality remained high especially in northern towns until at least 1900. Several lines of evidence suggest that infants were relatively protected from waterborne diseases such as cholera and typhoid, and therefore did not benefit greatly from improvements in water quality. We conclude (1) that any worsening of water quality in urban areas c.1800-1850 was not confined to new͛ or rapidly growing industrial or manufacturing towns; and (2) infants probably rarely drank untreated water, so high infant or diarrhoeal mortality rates should not be read as indicators of poor water quality, in the English context.

A 'Knowledge Ecologies' Analysis of Co-designing Water and Sanitation Services in Alaska.

Willingness to collaborate across disciplinary boundaries is necessary but not sufficient for project success. This is a case study of a transdisciplinary project whose success was constrained by contextual factors that ultimately favoured technical and scientific forms of knowledge over the cultural intelligence that might ensure technical solutions were socially feasible. In response to Alaskan Water and Sewer Challenge (AWSC), an international team with expertise in engineering, consultative design and public health formed in 2013 to collaborate on a two-year project to design remote area water and sanitation systems in consultation with two native Alaskan communities. Team members were later interviewed about their experiences. Project processes are discussed using a 'Knowledge Ecology' framework, which applies principles of ecosystems analysis to knowledge ecologies, identifying the knowledge equivalents of 'biotic' and 'abiotic' factors and looking at their various interactions. In a positivist 'knowledge integration' perspective, different knowledges are like Lego blocks that combine with other 'data sets' to create a unified structure. The knowledge ecology framework highlights how interactions between different knowledges and knowledge practitioners ('biotic factors') are shaped by contextual ('abiotic') factors: the conditions of knowledge production, the research policy and funding climate, the distribution of research resources, and differential access to enabling infrastructures (networks, facilities). This case study highlights the importance of efforts to negotiate between different knowledge frameworks, including by strategic use of language and precepts that help translate social research into technical design outcomes that are grounded in social reality.

Capacity factor analysis for evaluating water and sanitation infrastructure choices for developing communities.

40% of the world's population lacks access to adequate supplies of water and sanitation services to sustain human health. In fact, more than 780 million people lack access to safe water supplies and about 2.5 billion people lack access to basic sanitation. Appropriate technology for water supply and sanitation (Watsan) systems is critical for sustained access to these services. Current approaches for the selection of Watsan technologies in developing communities have a high failure rate. It is estimated that 30%-60% of Watsan installed infrastructures in developing countries are not operating. Inappropriate technology is a common explanation for the high rate of failure of Watsan infrastructure, particularly in lower-income communities (Palaniappan et al., 2008). This paper presents the capacity factor analysis (CFA) model, for the assessment of a community's capacity to manage and sustain access to water supply and sanitation services. The CFA model is used for the assessment of a community's capacity to operate, and maintain a municipal sanitation service (MSS) such as, drinking water supply, wastewater and sewage treatment, and management of solid waste. The assessment of the community's capacity is based on seven capacity factors that have been identified as playing a key role in the sustainability of municipal sanitation services in developing communities (Louis, 2002). These capacity factors and their constituents are defined for each municipal sanitation service. Benchmarks and international standards for the constituents of the CFs are used to assess the capacity factors. The assessment of the community's capacity factors leads to determine the overall community capacity level (CCL) to manage a MSS. The CCL can then be used to assist the community in the selection of appropriate Watsan technologies for their MSS needs. The selection is done from Watsan technologies that require a capacity level to operate them that matches the assessed CCL of the community.

Mozambique public investment in the water and sanitation sector and the targets of SDG6.

Many developing countries may not reach the targets of providing access to safe water sources and sanitation services for all by 2030. Census data from Mozambique show that the country's population is one of fastest growing in the Sub-Saharan region. Between the 2007 and 2017 censuses more than seven million people were added to the total population. By 2030 about 11 million people will be added to Mozambique's population. This will pose a huge challenge for the water and sanitation services. Access to these services is a fundamental requirement for the wellbeing of individuals and the development of nations. The last data from a Survey on Mozambique Family Budgets (IOF 2019/20), show that 55.7% of a total population has access to safe water sources. In contrast, access to sanitation services (31% of the population), has not kept pace with the progress made in water access. In this study, based on data from the General State Account of Mozambique, which includes the description of the annual investment made by the government and using the results of the Family Budget Surveys, it can be seen that if the average percentage values of public investment of 2009 to 2021 are the same in the following years as regards the water and sanitation sector, Mozambique will not reach the Sustainable Development Goals 6 targets in 2030.

Daily Use Water Bottles as a Hub for Microbial Population: A Comparative Study of PET vs. Stainless Steel Water Bottles and Outcome of Washing Strategy Intervention.

Water bottles for everyday usage are a typical addition to people's life and offer a practical way to stay hydrated. Even though safe and clean water is preferred for consumption, the water bottle or container used to drink water was never considered to be cleaned. Here, we examined the adhering microbial populations in water bottles composed of stainless steel (SS) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET). A total of 30 water bottles-15 PET and 15 SS-were gathered from different users. To identify and quantify the adhering microbial populations, microbial swabs from the inside surface of the bottles were collected and later cultivated on certain growth media. Overall the microbial load of PET is significantly higher than the SS water bottles of 68.8 + 19.1 cfu/ml and 35.4 + 8 cfu/ml respectively at initial sampling (P = 0.0027). We also evaluated the efficiency of various cleaning procedures in eliminating adherent bacteria populations. The cleaning strategy significantly reduced the microbial load (P<0.0001). The mean load observed was 11.2 + 2.3 cfu/ml post-wash. This comparison study offers important new information about the adherent microbial populations found in SS and PET water bottles used every day, in the end. This finding emphasizes the necessity of routine cleaning and upkeep of these bottles to reduce the possibility of microbial contamination and the accompanying health risks.