This is the water crisis in Mayotte. For months, running water has been distributed there in dribs and drabs. Soon, it will only be accessible one day out of three in the poorest department of France, a crisis which already has consequences on health, worry caregivers.
The French archipelago in the Indian Ocean can no longer meet the needs of its population – 300,000 inhabitants according to INSEE, more according to estimates evoking the presence of undocumented immigrants mainly from neighboring Comoros.
Water consumption now stands at around 40,000 m3, when the infrastructure does not produce more than 38,000. And this while a severe drought, unprecedented since 1997 according to the authorities, prevents the hill reservoirs – which provide 80% of the water supply with the rivers – from recharging properly.
Health consequences
To consume tap water, the regional health agency (ARS) recommends boiling it because bacteria can infiltrate the pipes during cuts.
Jonathan Cambriels, emergency nurse at the Petite-Terre hospital, warns of the number of patients with digestive disorders: “For three weeks, we have been welcoming at least ten people every day suffering from vomiting, diarrhea or dehydration. “. Currently, “five children are hospitalized at the Mayotte hospital center for advanced dehydration, they have lost a lot of weight”, underlines a pediatrician wishing to remain anonymous.
Beyond gastroenteritis, health professionals are worried “to see epidemics of typhoid fever and cholera, in a context where the lack of hygiene is already very present”, according to Jonathan Cambriels. “Skin problems and wounds that become superinfected are not uncommon.”