Bangladesh to Act on Arsenic-Tainted Water, Says UN

A report by a United Nations (UN) agency has asked the Bangladeshi Government to act fast to fight arsenic contamination in water and food.

As many as 20 million people in the country are still drinking the tainted water, which is a cause for concern, according to the UN.

Measures to combat the problem were scuttled as a previous target to supply safe water by 2011 has not yet been reached by the government, according to Reuters.

Bangladesh’s agriculture minister Matia Chowdhury said steps for the proper management of surface water and groundwater to reduce an accumulation of arsenic in crops and food sources is being looked into.

In the 1970s, UNICEF aid sponsored the digging of small tube wells across the nation for clean surface water to stop widespread gastrointestinal diseases.

The survey was conducted by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

Arsenic-contaminated water affects the health of 35 million people in Bangladesh, according to the World Health Organization.