Water for the Displaced Population's Health: An Urban-Rural Dichotomy Revisited

Abstract

This paper is a review and analysis of the health impacts of inadequate and unsafe water supplies on displaced populations. The investigation focuses on the overall health implications of the current praxis of water supply recovery and reconstruction, which is often biased towards urban areas, neglecting the water needs of those living in rural areas. Having explored a series of water quantity and quality issues, and their inter-relationship to public health, by comparing urban and rural settlements in the Tuzla Region of Bosnia-Herzegovina, this paper concludes that the overall strategy of responding to water needs of displaced populations requires equal attention and care to both urban and rural areas.