<
https://theconversation.com/there-are-too-few-toilets-in-africa-and-its-a-public-health-hazard-how-to-fix-the-problem-217305>
"Imagine you are miles from the nearest restroom, and nature’s call is urgent –
a situation that might raise a mild panic during a hike or at a music festival.
Now, picture that same scenario, not as a one-off inconvenience, but as a daily
reality. This is the case for about half a billion people globally.
In African countries, the issue of open defecation often goes unaddressed by
society and policymakers despite its negative impact on health, economic
development, dignity and the environment.
Led from Queen’s University Belfast, a team of multidisciplinary researchers
aimed to evaluate how prevalent the practice is in African countries and which
social factors are driving it. We also aimed to establish which communities
were in most urgent need of interventions.
We used demographic and health surveys, alongside World Bank data. In a recent
paper we set out our findings.
Our main ones were that in Nigeria, Ethiopia, Niger, the Democratic Republic of
Congo, Burkina Faso and Chad, a large number of people engaged in open
defecation.
We found that as few as ten countries could account for 247 million Africans
defecating in the open by 2030 if critical and emergency actions are not taken.
The biggest driver is lack of access to proper sanitation facilities. The
poorest individuals, particularly in rural areas, are more likely to resort to
open defecation than people in urban areas. In regions with the most critical
need, the poorest are 43 times more likely than the wealthy to resort to open
toileting.
We recommend tackling poverty, and intervening in regions and communities that
urgently need improved sanitation infrastructure and programmes. West Africa
needs special attention since many of its communities are in the critical
category."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
