World Toilet Day puts sanitation into perspective
On the outskirts of Nairobi, more than 1.5 million people live with little or no sanitation.
In one part of the African slum town of Kibera, there are open sewers overflowing with rubbish and human waste. Children play in the water just yards from where human faeces, collected from a nearby pit latrine, is emptied into the river. Typhoid, dysentery and hookworm infestations are rife and water supplies are frequently contaminated.
Each pit latrine is shared by an estimated 300 people in this part of Kibera. They’re little more than holes in the ground with planks across for people to put their feet on whilst they squat. As part of Comic Relief 2007, UK television personalities Ant & Dec witnessed these conditions and how Practical Action has been helping local people in another part of Kibera to install a new shower and toilet block. The new facilities have made an enormous difference to people’s lives.
The smell of the former pit latrines has now disappeared; so too have the pools of stagnant water in the pathways. New water points have reduced the distance that residents of some 2,500 households have to walk to fetch water from an average of one kilometre to just 300 metres. And the quality and reliability of the supply has improved significantly.
School children are now encouraged to practice good hygiene. And new hand-washing facilities have been installed in eight schools.
Most importantly though, local clinics report that cases of typhoid, dysentery and hookworm infestations are on the decline and lives are being saved.
As part of World Toilet Day, which takes place in November each year, we urge you to watch again this incredible video filmed on behalf of Comic Relief. Sanitation is still a neglected issue but a crucial aspect of poverty and deprivation.
