Dhaka: Preliminary findings from a study conducted in coastal Bangladesh from 2023 to 2025 reveal significant exposure to saline drinking water, alongside increased cardiovascular health risks, underscoring the need to address water security, climate adaptation, and non-communicable diseases collectively.
According to United News of Bangladesh, the findings were unveiled at a high-level seminar titled 'Drinking Water Salinity and Impact on Health: Bangladesh Evidence and Policy Recommendations,' organised by icddr,b in collaboration with Imperial College London at the Sasakawa Auditorium in Mohakhali, Dhaka. Dr. Aliya Naheed, a Senior Scientist at icddr,b, presented these preliminary findings from the Bangladesh programme of the NIHR Global Health Research Centre for Non-Communicable Diseases and Environmental Change.
The programme's initial phase involved the assessment of drinking-water sources across 172 villages in 71 Community Clinic catchment areas in Koyra Upazila of Khulna and Assasuni Upazila of Satkhira. Researchers examined 27,697 water sources, with 6,703, or 24.2 percent, being used for drinking. Salinity was found in 55.3 percent of drinking-water sources in Koyra and 23.3 percent in Assasuni.
"For millions living in coastal Bangladesh, the water they rely on daily is becoming a health concern," Dr. Aliya stated. "Drinking-water salinity is an increasing environmental challenge, contributing to high blood pressure, cardiovascular, and kidney diseases, with additional risks for women during pregnancy."
The study also assessed cardiovascular disease risk among 15,471 adults aged 40 or older in Koyra and Assasuni. About 21.6 percent were estimated to have a moderate-to-high 10-year cardiovascular disease risk, with prevalence rates of 19.7 percent in Koyra and 23.6 percent in Assasuni, surpassing the national estimate of around 9.02 percent.
Based on these findings, the research team designed a package of water and primary healthcare interventions incorporating digital innovation. The water intervention aims to enhance access to low-salinity drinking water through community engagement, improved operation and maintenance of water sources, and the establishment of a robust local governance and monitoring framework. This includes communal and household rainwater harvesting systems, pond sand filters, tube wells, and a proposed digital registry and monitoring system for drinking-water sources.
Research over two decades in coastal Bangladesh highlights associations between saline drinking water, particularly sodium exposure, and elevated blood pressure. Professor Paolo Vineis from Imperial College London emphasized the absence of a clear health-based threshold for drinking-water salinity and urged national and international institutions to develop appropriate guidelines.
Professor Adrian Butler also presented evidence on the long-term salinisation impacts of tropical-cyclone storm surges on drinking-water ponds and shallow groundwater. He emphasized the need for maintaining and raising polder embankments and rapid restoration of water sources post-storm surges.
Dr. Tahmeed Ahmed, Executive Director of icddr,b, noted the limited evidence linking climate change with health outcomes in Bangladesh and stressed the importance of practical adaptation strategies. "icddr,b is working to address critical gaps by generating evidence and testing solutions that connect safe drinking water, primary healthcare, and community participation," he said.
Fahmida Khanom, Secretary In-Charge, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, attending the seminar as the chief guest, highlighted the exacerbation of salinity by climate change and the importance of such evidence for national and international climate negotiations.
The seminar called for enhanced water-quality monitoring and data sharing, health-based guidance on sodium in drinking water, improved inter-ministerial coordination, sustainable water source management, protection against climate-related hazards, and integration of safe-water actions with non-communicable disease prevention and primary healthcare.