Garcia1

TeresaGarcia
Mr.Bradley
Government2
11October2016
SanitationTechnology:WaterCrisisinAfrica
Every90secondsachilddiesfromawaterrelateddisease.Cleanandsafewaterisvital
tohealthyliving.Unfortunately,developingcountriesinourworldarelackingsufficientand
drinkablewaterbecauseofpoorsanitationprovisions.319millionpeopleinSubSaharanAfrica
arenotabletoimprovetheirsanitationtechnologybecausetheydonothaveadequateresources.
About80%ofdeathsinAfricahaveoriginatedfromdirtywaterduetothepoorsanitation
facilities.Eachyear,over700,000childrenundertheageof5diefromwaterbornediseasessuch
ascholera,typhoidfeveranddiarrhoea.Theramificationsaredisastrousforhumanhealthand
theenvironment.InordertotargetandresolvethisdevastatingwatercrisisinAfrica,theUS
governmentmustsubsidizeprivatecompanieswithmatchinggovernmentfundsnottoexceeda
totalof15milliondollars.Thiswouldpayforthereplacementofformersewagesanitation
methodswithnewnonsewagetechnologies.Itwillensurethatdenselypopulatedareasin
SubsaharanAfricawillhaveaccesstosafedrinkingwater,fundamentalhygieneeducation,and
willupgradeaccesstosuccessfulsanitation.Oursanitationtechnologyofferscreative
approachestotechnologyanddelivery,greaterdisseminationofinformationonwhatworksand
whatdoesnotprovidinggreatertrainingandbuildingcapacityinhumanresources,andgreater
politicalandfinancialcommitment(Babcock).

Garcia2

WaterscarcityinAfricahasmadeithardertogrowfood,hascausedchildrentodropout
ofschool,andhasmadeitmoreofachallengetobuildhomes.Waterrelateddiseaseshave
becomethepredominantproblemduetothewatercrisis.Thedeficiencyofcleanandsafewater
continuestoincreasebecauseofpoorsanitationinfrastructure.Hundredsofdiseaseshavewiped
outindigenousAfricanfamilies.Waterbornediseasesoriginatefromandaretransmittedthrough
dirtywater.Fortunately,thesediseasesarenotdiscoveredindevelopedcountriesbecauseofthe
sophisticatedwatersystemsthatfilterandchlorinatewatertoeliminatealldiseasecarrying
organisms:typhoidfever,choleraandmanyotherdiseasesstillrunrampantinthedeveloping
partsoftheworld(McAllister).Nonsewagesanitationtechnologywillbetterchildrenshealth
andwillavertdiseaseandillness.Parasitescanalsobetransmittedthroughskincontact,which
comesfromdiseasesindirtywater.Schistosomiasisisawaterrelateddiseasethatiscreatedfrom
aparasitethatresemblesaflatworm.Surprisingly,outofparasiticdiseases,schistosomiasisis
consideredtobethesecondbiggestthreattopublichealth,behindmalaria(Hannemann).These
waterbornediseasescannotbeeliminatedifthemajorityofpeople(whohavethesediseases)do
nothavestrongandthrivingsanitationservices.Theyarecreatingawall,whichdoesnotallow
sanitationservicestoconquerthedeaththreateningdiseasesandillnesses.T
heWorldHealth
Organizationstatesthat,everyyearmorethan3.4millionpeopledieasaresultofwaterrelated
diseases,makingittheleadingcauseofdiseaseanddeatharoundtheworld.Mostofthevictims
areyoungchildren,thevastmajorityofwhomdieofillnessescausedbyorganismsthatthrivein
watersourcescontaminatedbyrawsewage(Berman).Maintainingproperhygieneand
cleanlinessisrequisitetoonessurvival,growthandwellbeing.Theepidemicofwaterrelated
diseaseswilldropthroughimprovedsanitationservicesthatisefficientandeasytoaccess.The

Garcia3

recentnonsewagetoiletsandlatrinesenablepeopletodiscardwasteproperlywhichwill
minimizetheoutbreakofoverthirtywaterrelateddiseases.T
heUSgovernmentmustaidto
Africa,andweshouldcontribute,sothatthehealthofpeople,especiallywomen,childrenand
othervulnerablegroupsinAfricaareabletolivelifehappilyandhealthily.
ThehealthsectorinAfricahasamajorresponsibilityinthepracticeofsanitation
programs.Theheadquartersofthehealthsectorsneedtopromoteandeducatetheirpatientson
propersanitationmethods,sothattheyareawareofpersonalhygieneandthencanmeet
reachablegoalstocreatinghealthyandprogressingenvironment.Initially,government
agencieshavetypicallybuiltsanitationinfrastructure,butsanitationprofessionalsarealso
concentratingonhelpingpeopletoimprovetheirownsanitationandtochangetheirbehaviour
(Mara).Sanitationpromotionandeducationiscrucialbecausethepoorhabitsandbehavioursof
peopleinAfricaareonlymakingitharderforthewatercrisistoberesolved.Environmental
implementinghastoberaisedcorrectly,sotheneedforsanitationwilllastforalifetime.This
needstobemostemphasizedindenselypopulatedruralareas,wherethereislittleprogressand
greaterdemandstoimprove.ThehealthinstitutionsinAfricamustbeconsistentandactive
leadersofadvocacy.Medicalprofessionals,doctorsandnursesmuststayuptodateonhealth
news,andmakenewmandatoryproceduresclearinsanitationfacilities.Developingcountry
governmentsshouldstrengthenpublichealthlegalandregulatoryframeworkstoimprove
intersectoralcoordinationbetweenministriesandagenciesresponsibleforsanitationatdifferent
levelsandenhanceaccountabilityforresults(Wanzala).Opponentsmightsaythatraising
awarenessinthehealthinstitutionswillbeinadequate,however,theenforcementroleisa
fundamentalstarttoimprovingruralandurbanareasinsubsaharanAfrica.Thesedensely

Garcia4

populatedregionsarehighlyvulnerabletotheexposureofdangerousdiseasesfromthedirtyand
unsafewater.Properhygieneeducationandencouragementproducesadeepercomprehensionof
communityinclinations,consciousness,outlooksandimplementations.Thereforehealthsector
leaderswillbe,C
hangingu nhealthybehaviourssuchasopendefecation,andpromotinghealthy
behaviourssuchashandwashingwithsoap,andsafewaterhandling,watertreatmentand
storage(Water,sanitationandhygiene).SubsaharanAfricawilleventuallybecomemore
exposedtothedangers,causesandpreventionsofwaterrelateddiseases. Educatingschool
Childrenonbasichygieneandsanitationisveryimportantbecausemostchildrenareeagerto
learnandcanthereforeinstilandpromotepositivebehaviouralchangeinotherchildrenchildren
haveimportantrolesinhouseholdchoresrelatedtohygiene,andcanthereforeinstilchange
withintheirfamiliesandcommunities(Cartridge).Thedispersionofaccuratehygienebehaviors
willalsoresultinadeclineofhealthcosts.Itwillconsequentlyproduceupto$5ineconomic
andsocialassetsforevery$1fundedthroughanescalateinproduction,whilesimultaneously
preventingillness.Thesupplyofsanitationservicesisvitalinschoolsbecauseitwillestablishan
activeandsecureacademia.Itisimperativethateachgenerationwillpassprecisepracticesof
properhygienetothenext,inordertocontinuetoachieveahealthylifestyle.
UneffectiveinfrastructureisruinoustoAfricashealthandeconomy.Poorsanitation
technologyhasincreasedtheuncontrollableepidemics,italsowastesresourcesanddilutesthe
valueinlife.Developingnonseweredsanitationapproaches,identifyingnewdeliverymodels,
andadvocatingforpublicpoliciesthatsupportimprovedsanitationindenselypopulated
areas...bettersanitationwillbeakeytoensuringhealthy,sustainablecitiesinthedeveloping
world,andtheapproachesthatprovesuccessfulcanbeadaptedandextendedtorural

Garcia5

communities(GatesFoundation).Currentsanitationtreatmentnetworkthatislinkedto
wastewater,toiletsandsewersentailboundlessquantitiesofland,water,energyandrequirealot
ofmoneysincethesystemsalwayshavetobeuptodate.Otheravailablemethodsthatcostless
arestillnoteffectivebecausetheydonteradicatediseasecausingpathogensandhave
unserviceablesystems.Innovationisespeciallyneededindenselypopulatedareas,where
billionsofpeopleareonlycapturingandstoringtheirwaste,withnosustainablewaytohandleit
oncetheironsitestoragesuchasaseptictankorlatrinepitfillsup(GatesFoundation).
Upgradedditchemptying,toiletmodels,silttreatment,andadvancedmethodstoreuse
unwantedwaste,canaidandcontributetogovernmentsandthecompaniestheyworkwithto
fulfilltheirgoaltorefine,buildandsupplysanitationfacilities.Newnonsewagetechnology
will,removegermsfromwaste,recovervaluableresourcessuchasenergy,cleanwaterand
nutrients,withoutbeingconnectedtowater,sewerorelectricalmains(Moeti).Thenonsewage
sanitationwouldcostlessthan$0.05adayperpersonforadequateandremunerativesanitation
facilitiesthatwillfunctionindenselycrowdedurbancitiesinSubsaharanAfrica.Current
technologyallowsthesanitationproductstousechemicalengineeringprocessesinorderto
conserveenergyanduseresourcerecoveryfromhumanwaste.
Whataboutthethousandsoforganizationsthathavededicatedamissiontohelpimprove
Africaswatercrisis?Howmuchhavetheyimpacted?GroupssuchastheThirstProject,
SplashandGenerosity.org,havethecorrectvisionandgoal.However,theyarenottargeting
theultimatefundamentalproblem:thepoorandoutdatedinfrastructureofthesanitation
technologyinAfrica.Theirendgoalsareclearandstrong,buttheirplansareineffectiveand
weak.MillionsofAfricanshavenotbeenprovidedwithcleanwaterforyearstherefore,the

Garcia6

previousorganizationshavetobuildaconsistentandefficientstrategyinordertomakeadrastic
differenceinthedenselypopulatedSubsaharanAfricanareas.Focusingonupdatingthe
sanitationtechnologyfromsewagetononsewagewillsignificantlymakeadifferencefor
Africashumanityandtheenvironment.
Theneedforbettersanitationinthedevelopingworldisclear.Inthedenselypopulated
areasinSubsaharanAfrica,privatecompaniesneedtotargetandupdatetheoutdated
infrastructure.Therefore,thewemustsubsidizeprivatecompanieswithmatchinggovernment
fundsnottoexceedatotalof15milliondollarstopayforthereplacementofformersewage
sanitationmethodswithnewnonsewagetechnologies.OverhalfoftheSubSaharanAfrican
populationfaceswaterinsecurity,andthegreatesthealthrisk,diarrhea,killsoveramillion
peopleeachyearintheregion(Monks).Thiswillensurethatthewatercrisisandits
consequenceswilldecreasesignificantly.WeneedtoimproveAfricasaccesstosafedrinking
water,promoteproperhygienebehavior,andensureaccesstosuccessfulsanitation.
Fundamentally,improvedsanitationmethodswillguaranteeasecureandhealthylifein
SubsaharanAfrica.

Garcia7

WorksCited
Ard,Incorporate."SubSaharanAfrica:WaterandSanitationOverview."S UBSAHARAN
AFRICA:WATERANDSANITATIONOVERVIEW(n.d.):n.pag.USAID.ARD,Mar.2008.
Web.17Oct.2016.
<http://www.energytoolbox.org/library/water+sanitation_utility_development_training/Sub
Saharan_Africa_WSS_Overview.pdf>.
Babcock,RogerW."Ahupuaa:WorldEnvironmentalandWaterResourcesCongress
2008,May1216,2008,Honolulu,Hawaii."N.p.,30June2016.Web.18Oct.2016.
Berman,Jessica."WHO:WaterborneDiseaseIsWorld'sLeadingKiller."V
OA.VoaNews,09
Oct.29.Web.24Oct.2016.
<http://www.voanews.com/a/a1320050317voa3467381152/274768.html>.
Cartridge,Robert."HealthandHygieneEducation."P
racticalHygiene.TechnicalInformation
Service,2015.Web.25Oct.2016.
<http://practicalaction.org/healthandhygieneeducation1>.
Davis,Susan."HowtoImprovetheAdoptionofInnovativeTechnologyinDeveloping
Countries."EngineeringForChange.IEEE,21Apr.2016.Web.13Oct.2016.
<https://www.engineeringforchange.org/howtoimprovetheadoptionofinnovativetechn
ologyindevelopingcountries/>.

Garcia8

Dodenhoff,Paul."WaterborneDiseases:Types&Information."DisabledWorld.Centersfor
DiseaseControlandPrevention,15June2015.Web.24Oct.2016.
<http://www.disabledworld.com/health/waterdiseases.php>.
FiscalYear."ForeignAssistance.gov."Health.Foreignassistance.gov,2016.Web.26Oct.2016.
<http://beta.foreignassistance.gov/categories/Health>.
"GlobalWASHRelatedDiseasesandContaminants."CentersforDiseaseControland
Prevention.CDC,09July2012.Web.16Oct.2016.
<https://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/wash_diseases.html>.
Hannemann,Megan."TheSubSaharanWaterCrisis."S cholarlyandCreativeWork.DePauw
University,2015.Web.11Oct.2016.
<http://scholarship.depauw.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1026&context=studentresearch
Kallen,Stuart."SupplyandDemand."R
unningDry:TheGlobalWaterCrisis.
Minneapolis:TwentyFirstCentury,2015.164.Print.
Mabogunje,Akin."TheEnvironmentalChallengesInSubSaharanAfrica."TheEnvironmental
ChallengesInSubSaharanAfrica.AfricanTechnologyForum,n.d.Web.26Oct.2016.
<http://web.mit.edu/africantech/www/articles/EnvChall.htm>.
"ManagingSewage."T
errascopeWebsites.Terrascope,2015.Web.26Oct.2016.
<http://12.000.scripts.mit.edu/mission2017/managingsewage/>.
Mara,Duncan."SanitationandHealth."P
LoSMedicine.PublicLibraryofScience,Nov.2010.
Web.13Oct.2016.<https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2981586/>.
McAllister,Lisa."HealthandWaterinAfrica."TheWaterProject.N.p.,2016.Web.26Oct.
2016.<h ttps://thewaterproject.org/whywater/health>.

Garcia9

Moeti,Matshidiso."ReinventingtheToiletfor2.5BillioninNeed."B
ulletinoftheWorldHealth
Organization.WHO,July2014.Web.25Oct.2016.
<http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/92/7/14020714/en/>.
Monks,Kieron."FromToilettoTap:DrinkingRecycledWastewater."C
NN.CableNews
Network,17Nov.2015.Web.10Oct.2016.
<http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/01/world/fromtoilettotapwater/>.
Pullan,Rachel."GeographicalInequalitiesinUseofImprovedDrinkingWaterSupplyand
SanitationacrossSubSaharanAfrica."PLOSMedicine:.PLOS,8Apr.2014.Web.26Oct.
2016.
<http://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.1001626>.
Wanzala,Justus."PeopleKeytoSubSaharanAfrica'sSanitationChallenges."I nDepthNews.
IDN,10Sept.2016.Web.16Oct.2016.
<http://www.indepthnews.net/index.php/theworld/africa/669peoplekeytosubsaharana
fricassanitationchallenges>.
"WaterSanitationandHygiene."Bill&MelindaGatesFoundation.GatesFoundation,
20112016.Web.10Oct.2016.
<http://www.gatesfoundation.org/WhatWeDo/GlobalDevelopment/WaterSanitationand
Hygiene>.
"Water,SanitationandHygiene."U
NICEFEasternandSouthernAfrica.UNICEF,2016.Web.
24Oct.2016.<h ttp://www.unicef.org/esaro/5479_water_sanitation_hygiene.html>.