A PUBLIC health crisis is looming at the country's major referral hospitals as water shortages have become critical, exposing patients to disease outbreaks. The lack of water is likely to expose patients to, among others, nosocomial infections - hospital acquired infections transmittable among bed ridden patients.
The situation is being worsened by the fact that most of the hospitals around the country are overcrowded, with patients sleeping in beds that are a few centimetres from each other. The continued operation of hospitals without running water is a violation of international standards, which require health institutions to close immediately in the event that they run out of water.
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