The consequences of climate change-related disasters on the access to drinking water in low- and middle-income countries

As research on the health effects of climate change-related disasters often focuses on the immediate health effects on affected populations, we know less about how the consequences of disasters influence people’s health in the medium term after disasters have occurred. By examining how disasters affect drinking water sources in low- and middle-income countries, this paper aims to explore whether changes in drinking water sources depend on community resilience to disasters. Drinking water is an important determinant of health, as it directly affects a range of health outcomes resulting from water-borne diseases, including diarrhoea or chronic diseases connected to parasites, bacteria, or chemical contamination. We use data from the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) on the quality of the drinking water source and combine the data with the Georeferenced Disaster (GDIS) dataset and Getis-Ord G_i* hot spots of climate change. By matching all observations on relevant indicators such as healthcare access, state reach and climate exposure, we analyse the evolution of change in drinking water sources over the first couple of years after disasters. We expect to find the biggest changes after disasters in areas where the state reach and consequently, resilience, is low. In addition, we expect these changes to be more protracted in the areas experiencing more severe climate change impacts.