Gripped by drought, this island is running out of drinking water | CNN

In a country like France this is ‘unimaginable’

Though 5,000 miles away from mainland France, under French law, Mayotte is as French as the suburbs of Paris.

Colonized by France in 1841, the island was formally recognized as a French department in 2011, meaning it has the same legal status as the 96 departments that make up mainland France.

The French government has responded to the crisis. In September, it shipped 600,000 liters of bottled water to the island for its most vulnerable residents and has deployed soldiers and civil servants to help with water distribution. The government has also suspended water bills for all residents.

But many Mahorais – the term used to refer to people from Mayotte – still feel abandoned.

Douainda Attoumani, 27, is scared of what the future might hold. She lives in a household of 10, with her parents, her sister, four brothers and two cousins. Every day is harder than the last, she told CNN.

“The authorities seem absent in our daily suffering,” she said, adding, “when we have no water, what are we actually going to do? We’re going to die of thirst.”

‘At any moment things can get out of hand’

Water in Mayotte is not only scarce, but what’s available is often contaminated.

Online, residents use the hashtag #MayotteASoif (Mayotte is thirsty) to share videos of the brown, sediment-filled liquid that emerges from their taps. Some, including Mousdikoudine, have taken to the streets in protest.

The Regional Health Authority (ARS) in Mayotte has identified several instances of contaminated water. As of mid-October, the cases of “non-compliant” water were at around 3%, ARS general manager Olivier Brahic told CNN.

Many residents, however, believe the water quality issue to be a much bigger problem.

Estelle Youssouffa, a lawmaker for Mayotte in the French National Assembly, told CNN the reason authorities are able to say the water is drinkable is because they perform tests only once it’s been flowing for several hours after an interruption.

The ARS confirmed to CNN that tests are undertaken after water has been running for 12 hours following a cut.

SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

1. SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation

   • Target 6.1: By 2030, achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all.
   • Indicator 6.1.1: Proportion of population using safely managed drinking water services.
   • Indicator 6.1.2: Proportion of population with access to safely managed sanitation services.

2. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being

   • Target 3.3: By 2030, end the epidemics of AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, and neglected tropical diseases and combat hepatitis, water-borne diseases, and other communicable diseases.
   • Indicator 3.3.1: Number of new HIV infections per 1,000 uninfected population, by sex, age, and key populations.
   • Indicator 3.3.2: Tuberculosis incidence per 100,000 population.
   • Indicator 3.3.5: Number of people requiring interventions against neglected tropical diseases.
   • Indicator 3.3.6: Malaria incidence per 1,000 population at risk.

3. SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

   • Target 11.1: By 2030, ensure access for all to adequate, safe, and affordable housing and basic services and upgrade slums.
   • Indicator 11.1.1: Proportion of urban population living in slums, informal settlements, or inadequate housing.

4. SDG 13: Climate Action

   • Target 13.1: Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries.
   • Indicator 13.1.1: Number of deaths, missing persons, and directly affected persons attributed to disasters per 100,000 population.

5. SDG 1: No Poverty

   • Target 1.2: By 2030, reduce at least by half the proportion of men, women, and children of all ages living in poverty in all its dimensions according to national definitions.
   • Indicator 1.2.1: Proportion of population living below the national poverty line, by sex and age.

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Source: cnn.com

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