Summary:
Manila is one of the most populated cities in the Philippines. It is very overpopulated, in fact, with a total population of 1.6 million (Business Insider). There are many squatter settlements as a result of this and this also has an effect on the environment. As the city frequently gets flooded, this is an open passageway for germs, trash, and waste to flow freely through the city (Business Insider). This leads to risks of spreading bacterial disease. The lack of adequate sewer systems and poor waste management lead to poor sanitation and poor health problems that can result in infectious disease, too (Vice). Additionally, there is a lack of basic services. 12.32% of the population still have no access to safe water supply (Water). 23% of the population do not have access to sanitation facilities and are practicing open defecation. This also can lead to the spread of bacterial diseases more easily.
5 Global Health Problems:
- Overcrowding and high density (and the space available to build and expand housing)
- This can cause spread of disease and infections more easily since people are so crowded (Business Insider).
- There is a lack of space, and squatter settlements will become present.
- Disease spread by mosquitos (Dengue/Bacterial Meningitis)
- Attracted by the garbage/waste.
- Lack of sanitation in the slums (trash)
- Feces are put into plastic bags and are eventually ripped open by stray animals, so the feces end up out in the open.
- Ends up in same area as food.
- Lack of Basic Services
- Not enough access to water, no toilets, and open defecation
- Substandard housing/inadequate building structures, high rises than cannot sustain people properly, squatter settlements, older building deteriorating (WHO), hazardous locations for housing (WHO).
The problem we will be focusing on:
Sanitation, as it affects overpopulation. Solving the issue of overcrowding is very difficult, as you cannot just eliminate people from the city of Manila. We aim to manage the issue, and sanitation plays a big role in it. With such overcrowding, people cannot have their own space, their own separate environment. By making an engineering-based solution to the lack of sanitation in the slums, we can help people who are living like this, because the problem of overpopulation is one that will take quite some time to fix.
References
Business Insider. (2016). Manila is the Most Crowded City in the World—here’s what life it like.
Retrieved from https://www.businessinsider.com/manila-worlds-most-crowded-city-2016-8.
Vice News. (2015). A lack of Clean Water and Sanitation in the Philippines Kills 55
People Every day. Retrieved from https://news.vice.com/en_us/article/d3jana/a-lack-of-clean-water-and-sanitation-in-the-philippines-kills-55-people-every-day.
Water. (2018). Philippine Water and Sanitation Forum 2018. Retrieved from
World Health Organization. (n/a). Housing related health risks. Retrieved from
https://www.who.int/sustainable-development/cities/health-risks/slums/en/.