Accelerating Global Sanitation
World Toilet Day is a global call to action, pushing nations to collaborate and share insights in order to collectively accelerate progress.
Sanitation Superheroes
There exists a unique league of heroes we are going to call the ‘Sanitation Superheroes’. These extraordinary individuals don’t wear capes or possess superhuman strength, but they play a vital role in safeguarding our health, our communities, and our environment through their unwavering commitment to sanitation and cleanliness. The Sanitation Superheroes are the dedicated sanitation workers who toil tirelessly to ensure our waste is collected and disposed of safely. They are the janitors and custodians who keep our schools and workplaces clean and hygienic. They are the environmentalists and activists who fight against pollution and promote sustainable sanitation practices. These unsung heroes work quietly and diligently behind the scenes, making the world a healthier and more livable place. Sanitation Superheroes have diverse roles and responsibilities that revolve around the principles of cleanliness, hygiene, and waste management. Some of their key functions include: Waste Collection: Sanitation workers are the backbone of waste collection systems. They pick up trash from homes, streets, and businesses, preventing the spread of disease and maintaining the aesthetics of our neighborhoods. Cleaning and Disinfection: Janitors and custodians play a crucial role in maintaining the cleanliness of public spaces. They sanitize surfaces, and empty trash bins, and ensure that public areas are safe and hygienic. Environmental Stewardship: Environmental activists and organizations work tirelessly to protect natural water sources, reduce pollution, and promote sustainable sanitation practices. They advocate for clean rivers, oceans, and air. Education and Advocacy: Sanitation Superheroes often engage in community education and advocacy efforts to raise awareness about the importance of proper sanitation. They teach people about waste reduction, recycling, and responsible water use. Emergency Response: During natural disasters and public health emergencies, sanitation workers are on the front lines, helping to maintain sanitation and prevent the outbreak of diseases. The work of Sanitation Superheroes is indispensable to our society and the environment for several reasons: Health and Hygiene: Proper sanitation practices are fundamental to public health. Sanitation workers and custodians prevent the spread of diseases by maintaining clean and safe environments. Environmental Protection: Environmental activists and organisations champion the cause of protecting natural resources. Their efforts help ensure clean water, air, and land for future generations. Community Well-being: Clean and well-maintained public spaces contribute to a sense of community pride and well-being. This positively affects the quality of life for all residents. Disaster Resilience: In times of crisis, sanitation workers are essential for maintaining order and preventing secondary disasters related to sanitation breakdowns. Sustainable Future: Advocates for sustainable sanitation practices help mitigate the environmental impact of waste and promote a more sustainable and eco-friendly future. Sanitation Superheroes may not have the glamour of traditional superheroes, but their contributions to society are immeasurable. They safeguard our health, protect our environment, and ensure the cleanliness and hygiene of our communities. Their dedication and selfless service are reminders that heroism comes in many forms, and sometimes, it’s the unsung heroes who make the greatest impact on our lives. We at Shades of Us urge everyone to recognize and celebrate the work of Sanitation Superheroes and strive to support their efforts in creating a cleaner, healthier, and more sustainable world for all.
The Agony of Water Scarcity
Photo by Tucker Tangeman on Unsplash THROUGH THE EYES OF OJONUGWA YAHAYA INTRODUCTION Located in an atmosphere of serenity and decorated with the rich savannah vegetation, the communal life and practice of trade by barter is still held with great prestige in the community of Ojokpachi-Odo. Ojokpachi is one of the villages in Omala Local Government Area (LGA) of Kogi State. The years I spent growing up with my grandmother in Ojokpachi would have been nothing short of amazing and enjoyable if we had access to clean and accessible water. The major source of water in the community is the stream (Oche and Oshumamanyi), while those that can afford hand-dug wells have it close to their compounds. The quality of the well water is determined by the nature of the soil where the well is situated, and it is not all the available wells that produce good, safe water. The well in my family compound produces hard water (highly concentrated in calcium and magnesium carbonates, bicarbonates and sulphates). The water is not good for drinking. We usually manage it for other domestic use such as cooking, bathing and washing, though the water does not lather well with soap, so it does not really wash cloths clean and ends up leaving the skin looking white and dry after every bath. During the raining season, we practice rainwater harvesting; a practice where my grandmother usually collects drinking water into special clay pots. The journey of water collection to the nearby stream during raining season is usually much easier, even with the distance of about 6 kilometres. Because the stream is full, and water flows freely during this time, we can make up to five (5) trips at a stretch. It is important to note that water collection in most households in the community is predominantly done by women and girls, making life difficult for women and girls. When school is in session, children of school age like me normally go for water collection first thing in the morning before setting off to school. When we get to school, some of us are assigned to fetch water to teachers houses as part of our labour duties. On getting home and having a rushed lunch, we set off for another round of water collection for the household until the available large water containers are filled up. It is an everyday routine. When school is not in session, we usually fetch water before going to farm. During the dry season when water scarcity reaches its peak, when the stream dries up and wells do not get to produce enough water, life in the village become as hard as you can imagine. We have to walk several miles – beyond 6 kilometres – in search of water. Women and girls set out as early as 3:00am or as soon as the cock crows to go in search of water, carrying touch lights in their hands. Women use cutlass to dig shallow ponds in the moist part of the stream, which is now dried, then wait patiently for the water to gather before scooping it with a little bowl into to a larger round container/basin which is equivalent to 25 litres keg. The queue usually become very long as the day breaks, sometimes water collection may take the whole day. The best time to get water from the shallow pond is very early in the morning or at midday when most people have gone to the farm, because the moment most of the people get back from farm the queue become unbearable. Sometimes, after waiting for hours, and getting to evening when the sun finally disappears, one may return home with an empty container. When the water situation becomes tougher, women and their children (girls) take time off farming activities completely to dedicate more days to fetching water. In this case the mother will be at the water source, scooping water from the hand-dug pond… scooping and waiting for it to gather again as if she is counting every drop, while the children will concentrate on carrying the water home. The journey home is never easy at this point, as our neck aches, with the centre of the head pleading for freedom from the water load, and shaky legs climbing the stony hill and walking the sloppy paths. The feet feels the hardness of the stones under the flip-flop slippers and bodies soaked with the constant droplets from the edge of the large basin, balanced on the head and held with both hands. One trip can take one and half hours. In some cases men who have bicycles go farther along the farm road with their kegs tied to the back of their bicycles in search of where the stream had formed a pond and is yet to dry up. Though the water gotten from there is usually dirty, brownish in colour and has odour due to dry leaves falling into the pond or as a result of cattle coming to drink from it. Usually when men fetch water, it is for their own personal use: for laundry and bathing and not for the entire household use as they believe that fetching water for the household is the duty of women and girls. My grandmother use to join us to fetch water but at a point due to old age, she did not have the strength to carry water, or wait on the queue to scoop water from the shallow hand-dug pond. But whenever me and my little sister go for water collection, she appreciates us a lot, calling us sweet names or our clan’s greeting name (Oyowo-gida), and adding larger portions of dry fish to our dinner. My grandmother feels our pains and wishes she could help. On several accessions, either me or my sister will return from the stream with swollen face from bee stings and my grandmother will cry and say we should not go to collect water again, but if we do
Open Defecation: A Known Enemy Affecting the Everyday Nigerian Life
Old woman showing her makeshift toilet.Credit: UN NewsBy Ojonugwa Yahaya from HipCity Innovation Centre Among human communities, there are some behaviours which have negative impact the people and endangers the health of the entire population. Most times, the people ignore the consequences because they believe it is an age-old practice and their forebears were not affected by it, or because of a fear of change. Also, when these people weigh their options and feel the cost of behavioural change outweighs their usual behaviour, they are usually unwilling to change. On the list of such unhealthy behaviour is the monster called open defecation (OD). Open defecation is the emptying of bowels in the open without the use of properly designed structures built for the handling of human waste such as toilet. People may choose to defecate in the fields, bushes, forest, canal, ditches, street or other open space. According to World Health Organisation open defecation pollutes the environment and causes health problems. Open defecation is linked to the high prevalence of water-borne infectious disease such as Diarrhoea, Cholera and Hepatitis A, among others. It is also linked to high child mortality, poor nutrition and poverty in Nigeria. The reasons that have been given by people who practice the habit of open defecation have either been poverty that makes it a challenge to build latrines or lack of government support in providing toilet facilities. In cases where the toilets are available, but people still end up preferring to defecate in the open, the reason can extend to cultural beliefs related to sharing toilets among family or non-family members. An example is can be found in communities where it is forbidden for a man to share the same toilet with a woman who is menstruating or a woman who newly gives birth to a child. In some other cases, people prefer open-air defecation due to the freedom it gives them as opposed to using a small dark structure or the inconvenience of using toilets that are dirty due to poor maintenance culture. Open defecation in Nigeria has a negative impact that cannot be overemphasised. It is not limited to local communities: even in the bustling city centres, open defecation is practiced predominantly by the people in these communities. Take the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja for example. In communities such as Shere (Bwari), Rije (Kuje), Leleyi Gwari (Kwali), Kaida (Gwagwalada), and even in the city centre like Jabi (Jabi Motor Park) and Utako Market etc, open defecation is very obvious. Following the declaration of a state of emergency on Nigeria’s Water supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), the inauguration of the National Action Plan for the Revitalization of Water supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) by the Nigerian government at the State House Conference Centre on 8th November 2018, and the national launch and flag-off of Clean Nigeria; Use the Toilet campaign on 19th November 2019, one would have envisaged that Nigeria would have made great strides in tackling the issue of open defecation in practicable terms. The opposite, however, is the case, with Nigeria topping the rank of countries practicing open defecation in the world in year 2020; a position formally occupied by India. This is a national issue and quite the shameful one. According to the findings from the 2018 WASH National Outcome Routine Mapping (WASHNORM) survey, 47 million people in Nigeria defecate in the open; that is, 1 in 4 Nigerians defecate in the open. Out of 47 million Nigerians who practice open defecation, 16 million live in the North Central, with Kogi State topping the list in the North Central. The cost of open defecation on the development of Nigeria as a country cannot be overemphasised. The cost of open defecation in Nigeria includes: • Economic Cost: Nigeria loses about 1.3% (N455 billion) of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) annually due to poor sanitation as a result of illness, low productivity, loss of learning opportunities etc. • Health Impact: More than 100,000 children under 5 years die each year due to diarrhoea; of which 90 percent is directly attributable to unsafe water and sanitation. Nigeria is the second country with the highest children’s deaths due to diarrhoea • Impact on Child Development: 1in 4 children under 5 years exhibit severe stunting, while 1 in 10 are wasted, due to frequent episodes of diarrhoea and Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) related illnesses. • Low Productivity: Frequent episodes of WASH-related diseases cause absence from school or work, as affected people take time off to heal, and some to take care of a sick relative. • Poor Education Outcomes: Reduced school enrolment and attendance due to time lost in search for water and frequent episodes of WASH-related illnesses. • Loss of Dignity and Security: Open defecation results in loss of dignity, increased risks of insecurity and violence against women and children. Source: (www.cleannigeria.ng) The Nigerian government has an action plan to end open defecation by the year 2025. The Federal Ministry of Water Resources in partnership with other relevant government agencies, NGOs, CSOs, and few private entities are showing their commitment through the Clean Nigeria; Use the Toilet campaign towards achieving the open defecation-free (ODF) target of 2025. In a press statement by the Minister of Water Resources, Engr. Suleiman Adamu, on August 26, 2020, he stated that 27 out of the 774 local government areas in Nigeria were certified open defecation-free (ODF). This indicates that the journey towards achieving total ODF in Nigeria is still very far. Attaining rapid success and effectiveness with the Clean Nigeria; Use the Toilet Campaign depends on: • Strong political commitment in leadership at all levels and increased in budgetary allocation towards improved sanitation and ending open defecation. • Increased collaboration amongst development organizations and civil society organizations working to improve sanitation and end open defecation. • Increased and timely support from the media for the dissemination of behavioural change messages, and increased coverage of human-interest stories on sanitation and hygiene. • Increased private sector engagement in the
Public Restrooms Need to Change
Image: Sarcasm I am constantly baffled when I use restrooms in public spaces that have only tissue paper. But let me backtrack a bit. Growing up, I was taught to clean myself with water any time I peed or pooped and this was followed by a strict rule to wash my hands afterwards. This was common practice for my family and many families that I knew. So if I went to the toilet 20 times on any given day, I would clean myself with water 20 times. As we got older, the concept of cleaning ourselves with tissue paper began to be mainstream but again, we were taught to use the tissue paper to dab ourselves after we had washed with water. It wasn’t until I got to the university that I saw people use tissue papers as their primary cleaning option. I was shocked. So many questions ran through my head; how did they do that? Were they truly clean? And if not, were they comfortable walking around with traces of pee or poop on them? And then finally, I wondered if their nether regions smelled? There is a flip side though. The way I was looking at these people like they had alien parts sprouting out of their heads was the same way they were looking at me. I got asked some questions that expressed their shock at my choice. “Do you use your hands when you wipe down with water?” “Which hand do you use? And do you eat with that hand?” “How can you stand touching your feces?” “Isn’t it disgusting?” And they really were disgusted! So it made me wonder; was their option so ‘wrong’? Well…there are times that I have no option than to use a tissue paper. It has always felt weird. And worse, I have always had to deal with an itch every single time I have used this option. It may be psychological (or not) but that has always happened. As a result, if I have to poop when there is no water, I would rather hold it until I can find a toilet with a bucket or a water shower that I can use to wash. If however I have diarrhea and just have to go, I always feel bad afterwards. I use so much tissue that you have to wonder whether I am trying to clean the oil spillage in the Niger Delta. Even at that, I never feel clean. I am not the only one on this boat. In fact, I have heard of people who take off their clothes every time they poop and have full baths afterwards because they don’t want any remnant of feces on their bodies. The thought of carrying even the smallest remnant of feces on our bodies is why we have decided that the tissue option is not for us. Back to my opening statement. It is surprising that many hotels, restaurants, clubs, schools, offices and other public places do not have toilets that cater to people like me. So if we have to use the restrooms in these places, we have to wonder whether we can risk holding it in (which is totally unhealthy) or risk getting itches that may (or may not) be the start of an infection. This is why I think that ALL public places should have both options for people who use their facilities. Ensure that you have running water as well as an abundance of tissue papers. If you cannot provide a detachable toilet tap (or a bidet as it is called) in your toilet, then get a bucket and bowl in there. Or a small kettle. First, it ensures all your customers are satisfied and second, you wouldn’t have to deal with the possibility of having urine/feces on the seat, the door and every other place a person might touch if they do not wash their hands afterwards. And if are like me and don’t know what options you may have when you want to use public toilets, do yourself a favor and go in there with a small bottle that would suffice. We can’t allow ourselves suffer in a clear case of Mohammed refusing to go to the mountain. Here 👇 is what I think an ideal toilet in a public place should look like. What do you think? An ideal restroom with options for cleaning one’s self.Image: Becoming Peculiar
