Friday, April 16, 2010

Why is Sanitation A Commodity?

As always, the Global Diseases: Voices from the Vanguard lecture series always provides a sense of perspective about what is really going on from the field. The final lecture featured Christine Moe, Director of the Center for Global Safe Water at Emory University. Her talk was titled, "Glittering Bathrooms that Fit Your Pocket" and I believe it was the first time in my life that I actually discussed toilets and waste in an academic setting. Let's see how "appropriate" I can be.

Moe brought up an interesting thought to ponder--Why is safe drinking water a human right and sanitation a commodity?

Of course, if I had to choose between fresh water or sanitation, my initial thought would be water because it would be one of the first things necessary to sustain my life. Does anyone ever think about what happens to that water once it gets turned into a biosolid? (one of two synonyms I picked up from the lecture, the other is excreta)

According to UNICEF/WHO, over 1.1 billion people around the world have no access to safe (clean) water. 2.6 billion are estimated to have no access to basic sanitation. In some parts of the world, women have to wait until nightfall to relieve themselves which poses a threat to their health and general safety.

We really are lucky to have a room in our homes, with a door, and a bowl that flushes. Even luckier to have people that we pay lots of money to fix the pipes when they get backed up. It's difficult to imagine a world without--but 41% live like this daily.

Luckily, Moe and others work steadily to improve sanitation the world around with innovative solutions. From solar toilets and hanging mirrors above bottled water sinks, to recycling biosolids to improve crops--their work is providing sustainable, safe, and affordable sanitation conditions.

Check Out These Links For More Information:
Center for Global Safe Water at Emory
Toilets For All

1 comment:

  1. Thanks for posting this: Moe gave a terrific talk and left us with much to think about.

    ReplyDelete