{"id":1975,"date":"2026-11-11T13:25:07","date_gmt":"2026-11-11T18:25:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/constructhubs.com\/water-crisis-and-public-health-panama\/"},"modified":"2026-11-11T16:23:34","modified_gmt":"2026-11-11T21:23:34","slug":"water-crisis-and-public-health-panama","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/constructhubs.com\/en\/water-crisis-and-public-health-panama\/","title":{"rendered":"The Water We Don’t See: Why the Water Crisis Is Also a Health Crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"

The water crisis is also a health crisis: when a community loses access to safe water, diarrheal and infectious diseases that we have known how to prevent for more than a century increase.<\/strong> That is why drinking water and sanitation are not just engineering works, but the first line of defense of the health system. Investing in them is prevention.<\/p>\n

This content is part of the ConstructHUBS Digital Magazine<\/a>, within our editorial line dedicated to sustainability applied to the construction industry<\/a>.<\/p>\n

We spoke with Dr. Frank Rodr\u00edguez<\/strong>, a Panamanian public health physician specializing in strengthening health systems and services, with a Master’s in Public Health for Development from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and another in Public Policy Management from ADEN University.<\/p>\n

You can also read the version published in the July 2026 issue of ConstructHUBS magazine<\/a> (in Spanish).<\/p>\n

Water, a public health priority<\/h2>\n

Sustainable Development Goal 6 (clean water and sanitation) exists because water is a determinant of health. As Rodr\u00edguez notes, the Pan American Health Organization estimates that around 7,600 children under five die each year in the Americas from diarrheal diseases, many of them linked to contaminated water and poor sanitation.<\/p>\n

In Panama, vital statistics show that diarrhea and intestinal diseases continued to claim children’s lives in recent years, with the highest rates in the indigenous comarcas, Bocas del Toro and Dari\u00e9n, where lack of piped drinking water at home, inadequate excreta disposal and poverty overlap.<\/p>\n

When the hospital also runs out of water<\/h2>\n

The Azuero water crisis, which began in May 2025 with the contamination of the La Villa River by pig farm waste, sewage and agrochemicals, forced contingency plans in early childhood and elder care centers, some of which relied on reserve tanks.<\/p>\n

A hospital without a safe supply cannot wash instruments, ensure hand hygiene or prevent internal infections. \u201cThe place designed to heal becomes an additional risk of transmission.\u201d That is why Rodr\u00edguez proposes treating safe water in health facilities with the same urgency as electricity or medical supplies.<\/p>\n

Coverage is not the same as water security<\/h2>\n

Data from the 2023 Census reveal a paradox: Herrera and Los Santos are among the provinces with the best formal water coverage and yet faced one of the longest and most visible crises. The crisis hit rural communities hardest, which relied for months on tanker trucks and emergency wells. In indigenous areas, where both coverage and security are lower, vulnerability accumulates.<\/p>\n

Less safe water, more pressure on the health system<\/h2>\n

The international evidence is clear: when hand hygiene and access to safe water improve, infections fall. During the COVID-19 pandemic, several studies documented reductions of 60% to more than 90% in the incidence of influenza and gastrointestinal viruses such as norovirus. In mid-2026, a norovirus outbreak in Chiriqu\u00ed affecting more than 2,500 people and closing dozens of schools was a reminder that these diseases are just waiting for an opportunity.<\/p>\n

A response that cannot come from a single sector<\/h2>\n

In Azuero, an inter-institutional table was set up with the ministries of Health, Environment and Agricultural Development, IDAAN and local governments. For Rodr\u00edguez it is the right model, but it came late: warnings about the La Villa River had existed for more than a decade. Health, environment, infrastructure and education must coordinate permanently and preventively.<\/p>\n

What communities can do<\/h2>\n