{"id":58514,"date":"2020-04-01T10:06:58","date_gmt":"2020-04-01T13:06:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rioonwatch.org\/?p=58514"},"modified":"2020-04-07T13:06:05","modified_gmt":"2020-04-07T16:06:05","slug":"without-reliable-running-water-favela-residents-push-for-right-to-wash-hands-amid-coronavirus-pandemic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=58514","title":{"rendered":"Without Reliable Running Water, Favela Residents Push for Right to Wash Hands Amid Pandemic"},"content":{"rendered":"

Clique aqui para Portugu\u00eas<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

This is the sixth article in what will be a spotlighted issue on RioOnWatch for the foreseeable future: the new coronavirus as it impacts Rio de Janeiro\u2019s favelas<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Amid the global Covid-19 pandemic, favela residents across Rio de Janeiro are suffering from inconsistent access to running water, according to a recent survey by the state’s Public Defender’s Office<\/a>. The governmental body received 475 responses in 5 days from March 18 to 23, with complaints of inadequate water provision spanning 140 different neighborhoods across 14 Rio de Janeiro municipalities. The vast majority of these reports came from favelas in the Rio metropolitan area.<\/p>\n

Water troubles are a long-standing problem for favelas, says Renata Trajano of Coletivo Papo Reto<\/a>, a human rights and communications collective based in the North Zone<\/a> favelas of Complexo do Alem\u00e3o<\/a>. “The majority of Alem\u00e3o has water problems, but this isn’t new. It’s a chronic, constant problem.” Out of Brazil’s 100 largest cities, the country’s second largest city of Rio de Janeiro ranks 52nd<\/a> for water and sewage treatment, according to a 2020 study<\/a> by the Trata Brasil Institute, a civil society public interest group.<\/p>\n

With the arrival of the new coronavirus, Rio’s water issues have gained new urgency<\/a>. “The concern that we have, mainly, is that we are looking at a public health issue,” Public Defender Ombudsman Guilheme Pimentel told RioOnWatch<\/em>. “It’s important that everyone wash their hands and that everyone has access to water so that they can follow the official recommendations of health authorities. If certain people don’t have the means to do that, we are not going to be able to control this pandemic. This will affect everyone.”<\/p>\n

Favela activists sounded the alarm weeks ago with the social media campaign #COVID19NasFavelas<\/a>, alerting the world that, without water, frequent hand washing would be out of the question. Rene Silva, founder of the community news site Voz das Comunidades<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>and resident of Complexo do Alem\u00e3o, tweeted March 16 that he had received multiple reports of lack of access to water in his neighborhood.<\/p>\n

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Many residents of Complexo do Alem\u00e3o are complaining that they don\u2019t have a water supply and because of this, they aren\u2019t able to protect themselves against the new coronavirus. There is no hand sanitizer in pharmacies or supermarkets. #COVID19NasFavelas<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Rene Silva (@eurenesilva) March 16, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n