Breaking the taboo and creating a sustainable and long-term solution to sanitation
For 2.5 billion people across the developing world, having no access to
even the most basic sanitation is a reality faced every day Photograph:
Ahmed Jallanzo/EPA
Life without access to a toilet
For the overwhelming majority of the developed world, a clean and
functioning toilet is something we take for granted and perhaps don't
even think to question. But for 2.5 billion people across the developing
world - that's almost one third of the global population - having no
access to even the most basic sanitation is a reality faced every day.
Of these, 1.1 billion are forced to suffer the indignity of practising
open defecation – the riskiest sanitation practice of all.
The
United Nations has declared access to sanitation a basic human right,
yet almost a third of the world's population suffer from a lack of
access to improved sanitation. Unilever, under its Sustainable Living Plan, has committed to helping more than one billion people take action to improve their health and well-being.
To coincide with World Toilet Day
(19 November), the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and
Domestos, published a white paper 'Toilets for Health' that highlights
how improved sanitation could greatly reduce diseases such as diarrhoea,
which results in at least 1.1 million deaths of children under five
every year. Also, the report provides an overview of the main diseases
linked to poor sanitation which include cholera, typhoid, hepatitis
A&E and many parasitic diseases. The paper revealed:
-
Improved sanitation & handwashing facilities have a particularly
positive impact on the education opportunities for young girls.
- Up to 443 million school days are lost every year due to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) related diseases.
-
Diarrhoea causes under nutrition, it also reduces a child's resistance
to subsequent infections creating a vicious circle of malnutrition &
infection.
Every year, 6.9 million children die before they reach
their fifth birthday. A third of these deaths are caused by diarrhoeal
disease and pneumonia – both can be significantly reduced through
improving access to sanitation and promoting handwashing with soap. The
World Health Organisation estimates a rate of return of $3 to 34 for
each $1 invested in water and sanitation, depending on the context and
system adopted. However, investment in water, sanitation and hygiene in
developing countries is minimal compared to other sectors of public
spending, and the share of investment going to water, sanitation and
hygiene has actually fallen over the last 15 years.
Sanitation is often described as 'the Last Taboo'
Unilever
hopes that raising awareness of the issue through World Toilet Day will
go some way to breaking this taboo. To reach the Millennium Development Goal
(MDG) on sanitation in 2015, more than 120 million people will need to
gain access to improved sanitation every year between now and then. One
of the key reasons why the MDG for sanitation is lagging furthest behind
is the relative reluctance to talk about it.
Sean Gogarty, Senior
Vice President Household Care Unilever said; "By consolidating the
knowledge available about improvements that can be made to people's
lives by the simple use provision of a clean, safe toilet, real action
can be driven to help address this crisis."
"Domestos
is Unilever's leading toilet hygiene brand, and has been committed to
helping protect families from germs for more than 80 years. As such, the
brand is uniquely positioned to address the sanitation crisis. That is
why we're working with global partners to plan sustainable sanitation
strategies that will make a significant difference to the lives of
millions of people around the world."
"Finding sanitation
solutions that solve these problems is one of the most complex issues in
the world today and one that we at Unilever are committed to helping
solve. Finding the solution will require collaborative working, bringing
together the best brains in public health, science, engineering,
business and communications."
Without toilets, untreated human
waste can have significant consequences for whole communities, affecting
many aspects of daily life and ultimately posing a serious risk to
health. It is reported that every year more children die from
diarrhoea-related disease than from HIV, malaria and tuberculosis
combined. This situation could be solved simply by providing improved
water, sanitation and hygiene facilities.
First Domestos Toilet Academy opened in Vietnam
Unilever
is also pioneering an innovative approach to the provision of
sanitation, through its continued partnership with the World Toilet
Organization, to launch the world's first Domestos Toilet Academy in Vietnam.
This academy will provide the business skills and training necessary
for local entrepreneurs to source and supply latrines to their local
communities – providing jobs and a boost to the economy, and at the same
time promoting the importance of safe and hygienic sanitation. The
Toilet Academy programme aims to be a sustainable and long-term solution
to sanitation that benefits local society and helps stimulate local
economy.
Dr Nguyen Thi Kim Tien, Minister of Health Vietnam said:
"Currently, many countries, including Vietnam, are still facing lots of
difficulties and challenges. Challenges of globalization as well as
environmental pollution, population growth and urbanization have
impacted the sanitation crisis. In Vietnam, the Government has put
strong emphasis on stimulating and promoting the "Patriotic Hygiene
Movement" to mobilize all management agencies, organizations at all
levels and entire nation to join hands in improving hygiene and
sanitation as this is essential in the current context."
"The
active participation of businesses like Unilever, helping improve health
and hygiene for communities is greatly appreciated and widely
acknowledged. The launch of the Toilet Academy clearly demonstrates
Unilever's enormous effort and will positively contribute to improve
sanitary conditions for Vietnamese people."
Copy on this page is provided by Unilever, supporter of the sustainable living hub
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