“Children Can’t Always Bathe” – Water Shortages Leave Musina Families Struggling With Basic Hygiene
Health-e News “Children Can’t Always Bathe” – Water Shortages Leave Musina Families Struggling With Basic Hygiene Geraldine Norton’s grandchildren do not always bathe before going to school. Instead, they wipe themselves with a cloth and wait for water to return. “The children cannot always bathe before going to school,” says the Limpopo grandmother, who has been registered on Musina Local…
In Musina, South Africa, families are struggling to maintain basic hygiene due to unreliable water supplies. Geraldine Norton, a grandmother, notes that her grandchildren often wipe themselves with a cloth and only take a proper bath when water is available in the afternoon. The family often has to buy water because the municipality's supply is unreliable, leading to unpaid water bills and further water shortages.
Despite qualifying for free basic municipal services, the family experiences difficulties flushing toilets, causing unpleasant odors and unhealthy living conditions. Musina Local Municipality spends over R6.4 million annually providing free basic services to 3,842 indigent households, but the support is ineffective when there is no reliable water supply.
A wider water crisis is affecting elderly residents who use social grants to buy water and struggle to maintain hygiene. Public health researchers emphasize that reliable access to water is crucial for hygiene and sanitation.
Written by urgent.news from Health-e News's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
