The Human Right to water and sanitation

What does your morning routine look like? For most readers I’d assume you use the toilet, wash your hands, and maybe take a shower.  However, do you ever stop to consider the water you use to shower, or the soap you use to wash your hands? Often, especially in developed countries, these things are taken for granted, rightly considering access to adequate water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) as basic Human Rights (Figure 1).

Le droit humain à l'eau et à l'assainissement 

À quoi ressemble votre routine matinale ? Pour la plupart des lecteurs, je suppose que vous utilisez les toilettes, vous vous lavez les mains et peut-être que vous prenez une douche. Cependant, vous arrive-t-il de vous arrêter pour réfléchir à l'eau que vous utilisez sous la douche ou au savon que vous utilisez pour vous laver les mains ?

On September 10th of 2023, Storm Daniel made landfall in northeastern Libya, bringing torrential levels of rain and strong winds (Figure 1). This onslaught of rain caused two big dams in the region to break – the Abu Mansour dam and the Derna dam, 75 metres and 45 metres tall respectively. It is believed that the Abu Mansour dam broke first, after its reservoir was filled beyond capacity. The dam collapsed and sent a rush of water towards the Derna dam further downstream (Figure 2).