Coronavirus: African Americans in Detroit hit hardest by health crisis

Audio 02:31

By: Achim Lippold Follow

The city of Detroit and its agglomeration are particularly affected by the coronavirus, they represent 80% of new cases. A situation all the more worrying since in this industrial city ravaged by the economic crisis of 2008, a third of the population lives in poverty. Aggravating problem: many residents do not have access to running water because they cannot afford to pay their bills. They will therefore not even be able to comply with basic hygiene instructions, such as washing their hands. A situation that affects especially African-Americans.

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In Detroit, not everyone is equal before the coronavirus. A statement made earlier this week by the mayor of the city, Mike Duggan. “ African-Americans are dying at a much higher rate than whites. What the coronavirus does is also to exacerbate social inequalities in health, ”he says. In Michigan, more than a third of the victims of the coronavirus are African-American whereas they represent only 12% of the population of this state of Midwest. They are also particularly affected by the lack of access to running water, since they have been unable to pay their bills for years.

Monica Lewis Patrick is the head of the NGO We the people of Detroit. It has long struggled for access to water for all residents. “ In 2014, 168,000 households in Detroit were deprived of running water. And many of them still do not have access to water. So what we are doing is going from house to house, knocking on doors to inform people of the situation and trying to make sure that they have running water in their homes again, ”he explains. she. He added, bitter: “ Our volunteers risk their lives by doing this. And meanwhile, our government is giving press conferences, explaining to the world that there are no problems, ”she quips.

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Conditional water for the poor

Under pressure from several NGOs, the city mayor turned on the tap for the poor, but not for free. It costs $ 25 a month, and those who cannot pay have to go into debt. This policy is incomprehensible, protests Kim Hunter of the NGO Engage Michigan. " Despite the arrival of the coronavirus, we must insist that people have running water at home to avoid catching this deadly virus. I find it repugnant to have to invoke a specific reason for requesting access to water, because this is a human right, ”he deplores. “ I don't think it would happen in a city where most of the people are white. If we take the slogan “Black lives matter” , that means that we are human beings and that should be enough to keep the tap running. "

Access to water is a real public health problem in the United States. According to a 2017 University of Michigan study, about a third of Americans do not benefit from it. This is worrying as the Coronavirus hits the country with full force. For Monica Patrick Lewis of the NGO We the people of Detroit, the lack of public investment in health systems clearly puts lives at risk.

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