The U.N. estimates that 2.5 billion people do not have access to proper toilets or latrines
with
one billion of those people having to defecate in the open.
That is 14% of the human population.
India has over 626 million people who are forced to practice open defecation, followed
by
Indonesia, Pakistan and Ethiopia.
And this problem is bigger than being an inconvenience or
discomfort.
According to the United Nations, almost a million children under the age of 5 die every
year
from illness directly related to feces contaminated wat er.
Tack on the fact that 80% of diseases
and one third of all deaths in developing countries can be traced back to contaminated
water,
and it’s no wonder why the U.N. is calling for updated toilets that can isolate and sanitize
waste.
Preventing feces from getting into the water and soil will not only improve the health
of hundreds
of millions of people, but would save countries a combined $260 billion dollars per year.
This
high number comes from health care costs, lack of tourism and money loss due to people
calling in sick or spending too much time finding a place to go.
For example, people in Kenya
spend an estimated 2.5 days per year trying to find a place to use the bathroom.
The negative effect of open defecation on women is another huge problem.
Women living in
communities where they are forced to leave their house at night to use the bathroom increases
the risk of sexual assault and violence.
Also, the lack of privacy offered by having to use the
bathroom outside has led to girls dropping out of school once they hit puberty.
One study found
that 23% of girls in India dropout of school as a direct result of the lack of private
bathroom
facilities they need in order address their menstrual cycle.
So, what is being done about it?
Actually a lot.
The United Nations has sponsored World
Toilet Day to help raise awareness, this included installing a giant inflatable toilet in front
of the
United Nations building in New York.
Other organizations have formed to help join in the fight,
including the Toilet Board Coalition, which brings together businesses, experts and non-profits.
And one Indian village took matters into their own hands.
A group of women wake up early and
greet people on their way to the field to relieve themselves, taking away the illusion
of= privacy.
They also hope that a friendly hello and a quick chat about open defecation will shame
out of
doing that activity in the future.
It appears that their tactics are working, as 90% of the village
now has individual toilets.
If you’d like to learn more about the work of the United Nations, check out our video
on how
much influence they really have.
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