Why hasn't there been an outbreak of cholera in Gaza?
We have been told over and over and over, since about 2009, that the water situation in Gaza is critical, that over 95% of the water is undrinkable, that an outbreak of cholera and typhoid is imminent. So what's going on?1/7
This is the Gaza Water Status Report for 2017, published June 2018 by the Palestinian water Authority. The situation looks dire. 2/7reliefweb.int/sites/reliefwe…
EU and UNICEF stepped up, and in early 2017 they opened a desalination plant in South Gaza Strip. Another, bigger one, is planned for 2019, if I understand correctly.
But TBH this is far too little, far too slow. Still, there is no epidemic. Why not? 3/7 ochaopt.org/content/larges…
The answer is...
FREE ENTERPRISE!
Sorry Socialists, the Capitalists have won this one big time, saving 1000s of lives. When neither Hamas, Palestinian Authority, Israel, EU, US, UN etc, could deliver, private local entrepreneurs stepped in and saved the day (or decade...) 4/7
When the need for clean water arose, after Israel left Gaza, and Hamas proved incapable of looking after infrastructure, small local desalination plants started popping up. There are now apparently about 155 of these plants. 5/7aliqtisadi.ps/article/337/-%…
Authorities are worried that 68% of the water produced by these plants is not clean enough, but according to the article in Arabic, competition is increasingly fierce and badly-run plants are pushed out of the market. 6/7thisweekinpalestine.com/wp-content/upl…
It's not a long term solution, and prices of the water are high, putting increasing pressure on the population, but the simple ingenuity of ordinary Gazans has staved off the inevitable calamity predicted by Haaretz, NYT, and WHO, to name but a few. At least for now. 7/7
According to this article from April 2017, the Gaza Strip accounts for a large share of bottled water exports of the major Egyptian company "al Mutahida", which markets under the brand names Vera and Mineral, but doesn't give amounts.
alborsanews.com/2017/04/16/101…
I think I remember Vera from my visits to Sinai, in the late 1990's. It was very cheap.
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