Toilets a better gauge of household’s economic status
This combination of pictures presents an AFP Worldwide photo theme on public toilets that was done ahead of the United Nations World Toilet Day. PHOTO | AFP
As a component of the Water Sanitation and Hygiene or WASH complex, toilets are critical in eliminating the cycle of water borne gastrointestinal infections.
The Unicef estimates that “worldwide, 60 percent of the population does not have a household toilet that safely disposes human waste”.
Last week on November 18, the world and public health systems globally celebrated the World Toilet Day to raise awareness and seek more efforts towards improving their use as well as safe disposal of toilet waste. As a component of the Water Sanitation and Hygiene or WASH complex, toilets are critical in eliminating the cycle of water borne gastrointestinal infections.
Over the celebration, some interesting statistics came up. The Unicef estimates that “worldwide, 60 percent of the population does not have a household toilet that safely disposes human waste”.
This statistic could be higher locally given that much of Europe and theWest have multiple toilets per house. The practice of open defecation or relieving oneself in the bush is common especially in rural impoverished communities.
A while ago, one local survey conducted showed that the number of households without toilets was more than 50 percent. In certain areas open defecation was in more than 75 percent of the community members. It is also estimated that 1.8 billion of us drink water contaminated with faeces.
But why are toilets and the cascade of human waste disposal important?
According to the World Bank statistics unit, poor sanitation and hygiene consume up to 1.5 per cent of GDP globally every year. Amongst developing nations this figure could be higher. This figure is attributable to both the economic costs incurred by health systems (mostly public hospitals) as well as the lost economic productivity.
What is interesting though is the extrapolation between a household’s wealth and both the number and quality of toilets available at their disposal. An index of the ratio of household members to a toilet offers a rough indicator of the wealth or economic status of the family. Amongst affluent households, up to three modern toilets in a house may be found. In the middle income houses this figure drops to two per house but majority of Nairobi houses have one per house. On the other extreme, in impoverished communities one toilet may be found for every 200 houses in some regions.
Pit latrines are king in rural areas.
To look at it from a different perspective, the quantity and quality of toilets and their waste disposal model easily mirror the economic fortunes of a society.
A public health officer recently opined that perhaps toilets or their lack in a household may also be a measure of financial levels alongside other routine wealth estimates like number of livestock or source of fuel.
In many rural Kenyan households, a toilet is not just a utility, but an asset acquired after meeting other needs due to its construction and digging costs. As such its presence in a compound signifies availability of extra cash beyond basic needs.
We all must support construction and use of toilets as well as safe disposal of the waste. The strategy only works if we all have toilets otherwise those without negate all the efforts the rest are putting.
