Open Defecation - The Public Heath Hazard in Africa

This blog will discuss one of the biggest issues affecting water and sanitation in Africa - open defecation. We will explore the causes, consequences and solutions to this phenomenon.

 

Recognised as a human right by the UN, access to clean WASH facilities is still a distant dream for many. Astonishingly, 946 million individuals globally still resort to open defecation, a practice where human waste is disposed of in the open, bypassing toilet facilities.

 

This issue is most pronounced in developing nations, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa. A staggering 90% of those practising open defecation took place in rural areas in these areas (Saleem et al. 2019). Recent research highlights that nations like Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Niger, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Nigeria, and Chad have significant populations engaging in this practice (Fagunwa et al., 2023). Alarmingly, if no decisive actions are taken, 274 million Africans in just ten countries will continue this practice by 2030.

 

What Drives Open Defecation?

Economic constraints and cultural norms are the primary factors fueling open defecation (Gauri et al.). The primary culprit? A severe lack of adequate sanitation infrastructure. The poorest, especially in rural locales, are disproportionately affected, with the impoverished being 43 times more likely to defecate in the open compared to their wealthier urban counterparts (Fagunwa and Onyeaka, 2023).

 

The Consequences

Improved sanitation is known to curb the spread of diseases and parasites and reduce sickness and death rates, particularly in children. Therefore, tackling open defecation is key to enhancing water systems.

 

Moreover, this issue is a stark indicator of poverty and uneven development in Africa, intersecting with Sustainable Development Goals like No Poverty (SDG1) and Reduced Inequalities (SDG10). The UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs highlights that open defecation is a clear sign of extreme poverty. The SDGs provide a comprehensive framework to address open defecation’s intertwined public, sanitation, and environmental challenges.

 

Solutions

One effective strategy has been the implementation of community-led total sanitation (CLTS). This approach has spurred significant advancements towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa (Zuin et al., 2019). CLTS employs participatory techniques, like community mapping and walks, to help communities self-assess their sanitation habits and the risks involved. This realisation often sparks communal efforts towards becoming open defecation-free.

 

 

 Pit Latrine design


Functioning latrines are a cost-effective solution to end open defecation. Pit latrines, a simple yet efficient method, separate humans from faeces, reducing exposure to harmful pathogens. This approach has been central to the MDG's implementation strategies.

 

Wateraid also offers more solutions for building and maintaining toilets efficiently, which can be seen in the video below about HandyPod.








Comments

  1. Angel Huang 7 January 2024 at 10:00

    Hi Nia, nice to see you discuss the efforts already made of sanitation in Africa and point out the existing challenges that need to be worked on. Here is some advice for your blog, add subtitles to highlight your paragraph's content and lack of content related to hydrology in Africa, like how sanitation improvement and health services connect with local water resources?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nia 7 January 2024 at 12:45

      Thanks, Angel. My last blog will try to engage more with a hydrological aspect of the topic.

      Delete
  2. Bejna Doldur7 January 2024 at 12:47

    Hi Nia, very interesting blog post! Really enjoyed reading it!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Damien Lu7 January 2024 at 16:47

    Hi Nia,

    Very interesting post and it's great to know there are mutiple solutions to open defecation!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Yiyi Zhang7 January 2024 at 17:31

    Hi Nia, I am glad to see that there are solutions to combat open defecation! I am curious to know if there are any disadvantages of pit latrine though this is already an improvement to eliminate open defecation.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nia 10 January 2024 at 04:42

      Here comes the answer: Pits may emit a foul odour. They are prone to failure/overflow during floods. Children may be discouraged from using the latrine if the latrine slab has not been designed with them in mind and is too large for them. But again, for open defecation, pit latrines have been a great improvement and not all the regions have built them. The solution to defecation is still a long way off.

      Delete

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