Sanitation
services are scarce in developing countries where 37% of the world's populations
live without improved sanitation (UN/WHO, 2012). According to Bartram, approximately,
2.4 million deaths could be prevented annually if people practiced good hygiene
and had reliable sanitation and drinking water (Bartram, 2010).
Due
to the fact that 1.1 billion people around the world practice open defecation, the
United Nations General Assembly has designated 19 November as World Toilet Day to highlight the urgency of the importance of improving sanitation in developing
countries. Most of these people live in
rural areas and they do not have a private place to defecate and urinate;
therefore, they use fields, ditches or just plastic bags for their fecal or
urine needs.
Behavior
change activities are necessary to increase sanitation effectiveness in developing
countries. Unfortunately, behaviors are difficult to modify since they are
automatic actions which do not require much thought to perform. There are
communities which are slow or show resistance to change because, for example,
they have lived without latrines for 30 years and they are still alive.
Thus,
before applying water, sanitation and hygiene actions, it is necessary to learn
about the main patterns of each community to define realistic expectations
about the possibility of change, the problems to address and the speed of the
behavior change process.
Lack of sanitation leads to intestinal helminths
infections which cause late entry to school, low school attendance and impaired
cognitive function (Bartram, 2012). If the above mentioned effects are
considered in the labor market, the economic costs would double to 9% of the
gross domestic product (GDP) (Van Minh, 2011).
Also, the absence of sanitation involves extra time spent on seeking
somewhere to defecate. WHO estimated in a study that the time lost
could be valued at US$63 billion annually (Bartram, 2012).
MAIN FACTS (World
Toilet Advocacy Report):
- 1 in 3 women worldwide risk shame, disease harassment and even attack because they have nowhere safe to go to the toilet.
- 526 million women have no choice but to go to the toilet out in the open.
- Sanitation would make 1.25 billion women’s lives safer and healthier.
- Women and girls living without any toilets spend 97 billion hours each year finding a place to go.
- Every day, around 2000 mothers lose a child due to diarrhea caused by a lack of access to safe toilets and clean water.
Very interesting post. I think the reason behind much of lack of sanitation is laziness. Especially when it come to washing our hands. Sorry guys, but I have rarely heard a guy wash their hands after going to the bathroom. It's usually "flush.." and out the door they come. Gross. Wash your hands people!!
ReplyDeleteI had no idea there was an actual day for cleaner sanitation. It has a good point though, I honestly haven't really thought about the problems people face by not being able to use an actual toilet. The health risks of not properly sanitizing and not being able to for long periods of time can help contract so many lethal diseases, this should be publicized a little more.
ReplyDeleteOpen defecation? These words alone serve as a reminder of how grateful I need to be. I forget that many places in the world do not have access to a private bathroom. Let alone have access to clean drinking water. I am shocked by the statistics that you've listed. However, how can people who are deprived of clean water and a toilet practice good hygiene? They don't have a choice, do they? This is very sad. I guess the best I can do right now is to continue practicing better and safe hygiene and spread your message to others so more people can be aware of this important global issue. In response to the first post by Laura, I have also witnessed women not washing their hands after using the bathroom. In restaurants, too!
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