Category Archives: Water and Sanitation

Why You Shouldn’t Take Your Toilet for Granted on World Toilet Day

schistosomiasis, WASH, Water and Sanitation, , ,

 

Photo by Flickr user SuSanA Secretariat

Photo by Flickr user SuSanA Secretariat

If you’re reading this blog post, chances are you’ve used a toilet recently. It’s also likely you’ve never really considered how fortunate you are to have access to that toilet. Could you imagine what it would be like to leave your house in the middle of the night to relieve yourself outside rather than inside the safety and privacy of a clean bathroom stall?

Today is World Toilet Day and we’re recognizing the 2.5 billion people around the world who do not have access to a toilet (that’s about 1/3 of the world’s population!). The magnitude of this problem is significant.  Without a toilet, people are forced to defecate outside – an act that compromises a person’s dignity, privacy and safety, and leaves billions susceptible to neglected tropical diseases (NTDs).

Schistosomiasis and intestinal worm infections such as roundworm, hookworm and whipworm are easily spread in communities that do not have access to toilets or sanitation facilities. Schistosomiasis spreads when infected people urinate or defecate close to a water source, contaminating it with the larvae of the parasite. Without proper infrastructure (toilets and city utilities) more than 80% of sewage in developing countries is discharged untreated — polluting rivers, lakes and coastal areas and promoting the spread of NTDs.

Simply walking barefoot around this polluted and contaminated water leaves people exposed to NTDs. As a result, people can be continually re-infected as they work, play, bathe or eat. Children especially have a high risk of contracting these diseases because they often play barefoot outside and put their hands in their mouths without washing them.

According to the World Health Organization, improving water, sanitation and hygiene can reduce trachoma by 27 percent, and improved sanitation could reduce schistosomiasis by as much as 77 percent.

By combining NTD treatment, hygiene education and creative solutions for the 2.5 billion people without access to toilets, we can tackle this problem. Important work is being done by several partner organizations to promote better water, sanitation and hygiene worldwide. The Global Network is also happy to work with former president of Ghana John A. Kufuor to promote long term NTD solutions by integrating mass drug administration with programs for water, sanitation and hygiene – a message the former president drove home at this year’s World Water Week in Stockholm, sweeden.

To learn more about the links between clean water, sanitation and NTDs, watch our quick video . 

NTDs are on a Roll in Sweden

john a. kufuor, WASH, Water and Sanitation, ,

 

Former President of Ghana John Kufuor speaks at World Water Week. (Photo by Worldwaterweek)

Former President of Ghana John Kufuor speaks at World Water Week. (Photo by Worldwaterweek)

What do you call a room full of the world’s leading water and toilet specialists? A Charmin group!

Last week, His Excellency John Kufuor, President of Ghana (2001-2009), travelled to Sweden to meet with such a group at the Stockholm International Water Institute’s (SIWI) World Water Week, an annual week-long conference that has been the focal point for the globe’s water issues since 1991. As the Global Network’s Special Envoy for NTDs and Chair of Sanitation and Water for All (SWA), President Kufuor represented the dual (and closely connected) issues of NTDs and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH).

As I highlighted last week, poor communities typically lack access to the essential protective measures of clean water, sanitation facilities and soap for good hygiene, leaving them at much higher risk of coming into contact with NTDs or the insects that spread them. As a result, NTDs continue to keep communities poor and without sufficient access to clean water and sanitation.

For this reason, the Global Network was thrilled to join President Kufuor as he worked to increase awareness about the vital links between NTDs and WASH. In partnership with the Global Network and SWA, he encouraged strong political will to support NTD and WASH initiatives and called for heightened collaboration between the two communities. President Kufuor acted as a powerful voice for NTDs and WASH during his remarks at the Stockholm World Water Prize Seminar, the Africa Day ministerial session, and at several other events throughout the week, and was also praised in the media for his efforts to help the world’s poorest communities.

In his remarks at the Stockholm World Water Prize Seminar, which celebrated Dr. Peter Morgan as the 2013 Water Prize Laureate, President Kufuor stated, “I am confident that improving access to clean water and sanitation and fighting diseases, such as roundworm, hookworm and snail fever, are among the best investments governments can make.”

Beyond his official duties at the conference itself, President Kufuor conducted several high level meetings with representatives from the Swedish and French governments to discuss how they can leverage their investments in water initiatives to simultaneously tackle NTDs.

The Global Network thoroughly enjoyed collaborating with SWA at World Water Week and hopes that this initial partnership will soon lead to substantial improvements for the 1.4 billion people who have NTDs and the astounding 2.5 billion people who lack access to basic sanitation.

It was another busy week for the Global Network but there is still much more work to do; good thing we are not pooped out yet!

 

A Royal Case of Worms

NTDs, Water and Sanitation,

 

King_RichardEveryone knows that neglected tropical diseases typically affect the poorest and most marginalized communities. However, this has not always been the case. After studying the soil surrounding King Richard III’s skeleton, researchers concluded today that the fifteenth-century king of England suffered from a mild case of roundworm. Soil samples from where his intestines would have been show multiple roundworm eggs, which can be preserved for hundreds of years under the right conditions. (Richard III died in battle at the age of 32, and his burial location was lost to history until his skeleton was discovered by archeologists in 2012 under a parking lot in Leicester.)

NTDs have plagued humanity for centuries and were common even in England during the reign of Richard III. But why is it unlikely that you’d get an NTD in the UK today?

In fact, if you have the resources to protect yourself, it is unlikely that you would be infected with an NTD anywhere. While the rich and poor were susceptible to NTDs in the past, today, only the poor in developing countries―the bottom billion―are at high risk. Geography plays a role (NTDs like warm, moist places), but living standards are the most significant determining factor.

Poor communities typically lack access to the essential protective measures of clean water, sanitation facilities, soap for good hygiene, and improved housing, and are thus at much higher risk of coming into contact with parasites or the insects that spread them. By introducing these measures, along with shoes for added protection and free medications to treat current infections, communities can start down to the path to being NTD-free. Too bad Richard III didn’t know that!

For this reason, President Kufuor and the Global Network team are in Stockholm this week to attend the Stockholm International Water Institute’s World Water Week. In partnership with Sanitation and Water for All, President Kufuor is working to promote long term NTD solutions by integrating mass drug administration with programs for water, sanitation and hygiene.

Look out next week for our follow up blog from World Water Week, where we will report back on President Kufuor’s high-level advocacy activities.

World Water Week: Addressing Water and Food Security’s Effect on NTDs and Development

Africa, END7, farming, food security, Global Development, Global Health, NTDs, poverty, Water and Sanitation, World Water Week 2011

Stockholm, Sweden, August 26-31, 2012 :  The leading minds in environment, health, climate change, economics, and poverty reduction gathered in Stockholm for the annual World Water Week, hosted by the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI).  Operating since 1991, the event highlights the importance of partnerships between the different fields of expertise when determining the best and most feasible solutions to global water issues.

This year, the World Water Week focused on the importance and challenges of “Water and Food Security,”, and emphasized the importance of improving sanitation and reducing wasteful practices around the globe.  More than enough food is produced to feed the world’s population, yet one billion people don’t get the nourishment they need.  Despite the one billion people going hungry, around one third of food produced is thrown away or otherwise wasted.  It is important to note even though these numbers are both astounding and frustrating, food alone will not solve this problem.  Half of malnutrition cases are related to unclean water, insufficient sanitation, or poor hygiene.

For the Global Network, this message is extremely important.  Poor sanitation and hygiene are leading factors in the spread of Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs).  There are nearly 500million people without access to clean water, and a greater two billion without access to a proper toilet.  An insufficient or dirty water supply, poor hygiene practices, as well as limited or no access to sanitation facilities lead to the spread of NTDs.  Improving these issues could substantially decrease NTDs, improving health and standard of living in many developing areas.  Disease and undernourishment severely limit the productivity of the work force, putting strain on the entire community.  For example, in Nigeria’s rice farming communities, contracting Schistosmiasis in the swampy farmlands can result in a loss of more than a month’s worth of labor days per person (for information about NTDs in Nigeria’s swamp rice farms, read more here ). Clean water, sanitation, and good hygiene go beyond improving health to facilitate the productivity and over all living standard of a community.  The benefits of clean and available water span across all fields of development. For World Water Week participants, this is the bottom line.

 

To learn more about the World Water Week’s purpose and agenda, check out their website at www.worldwaterweek.org