Between rest room and economic development

Call it loo, convenience or rest room; toilet remains a basic necessity at homes. Without it, the health of the inhabitants will surely be in jeopardy. In the olden days, it was the practice of the early men to defecate or urinate wherever they deem most convenient. With civilization, however, man adopted a more progressive and healthy means of performing this basic bodily functions. In Africa, simple pots were used to collect these wastes in order to dispose of them away from living areas. At night, some paid agents usually come to dispose of this waste.

 

Gradually, man began to set aside specific places to perform these functions so that privacy and a better sanitary environment could be attained. It is, however, sad to note that people are now reverting to the old habit of easing themselves indiscriminately, particularly in urban areas. In Lagos, for instance, it is common to see people on the highways disembarking from their cars to defecate openly along the road. On the streets, behind bushes, in groves of trees, in rivers or streams, inside gutters, dump sites, in motor parks, markets and what have you, people use faeces to litter the environment with impunity. Even some of the fanciest areas are not exempted

 

This has, in no small way, contributed immensely to the desecration of the Lagos environment through careless urinating and open defecation. No space is spared! It is quite disheartening that this atrocious act is being passed down to the younger generations mostly by mothers. Women, chiefly market women or traders are fond of instructing their wards to urinate or defecate in open places or polythene bags with the contents either ending in the drains or sidewalks.

 

According to the World Health Organisation, WHO,  2.5 billion  of the world’s seven billion people, do not have proper sanitation and 1.1 billion people still defecate in the open, a ratio of one in ten persons. Basic sanitation, which has been a concern from the earliest stages of human settlements, is described as having access to facilities for the safe disposal of human waste (faeces and urine) as well as having the ability to maintain hygienic conditions are critical to health, survival, and development. Therefore, it is not surprising that many countries and cities, and in particular those with high population like Lagos, are challenged in providing adequate sanitation for their entire populations because the growth rate has overburden the existing urban management system.

 

This puts many people at risk of water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH)-related diseases. Serious waterborne diseases such as cholera and diarrhea occur when open defecation or poor sanitation permits human waste to pollute water supplies. According to a 2016 statistics by WASH watch, diarrhea caused by poor sanitation and unsafe water kills 315,000 children every year. Similarly, a 2003 International Labour Organisation (ILO) data reveals that disease transmission at work mostly caused by poor sanitation and hygiene practices causes 17% of all workplace deaths while loss of productivity due to illnesses caused by lack of sanitation and poor hygiene practices is estimated to cost many countries up to 5% of Gross Domestic Products (GDP).

 

Also, the WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation, posited that at least 1.8 billion people world-wide are estimated to drink water that is contaminated through poor sanitary habit. An even greater number drink water which is delivered through a system without adequate protection against sanitary hazards. Furthermore, Studies have shown that the countries where open defecation is most widely practiced are the same countries with the highest mortality rate of children under five, high levels of under nutrition and poverty, and large wealth disparities.

 

Toilets play a crucial role in creating a strong economy, as well as improving health and protecting people’s safety and dignity, particularly women’s and girls’. Therefore, aside from the health risks inherent in lack of proper human waste disposal, it also has significant impacts on dignity and security, the environment, and social and economic development.

In a bid to raise awareness of sanitation issues and sewerage and make a case for sanitation for all that the World Toilet Day is celebrated on 19th November of every year.  The day is intended to encourage UN Member States and relevant stakeholders, including civil society and non-governmental organizations, to promote behavioural change and the implementation of policies in order to increase access to sanitation among the poor and end the practice of open defecation.

 

The theme for this year’s celebration “toilets and jobs” is aimed at sending signals out that toilets save lives, increase productivity, create jobs and grow economies. And that if the sanitary situation in an office or business environment is bad it could be just as when fish are endangered in poisoned water. Therefore, the people cannot live truly productive and fulfilled lives, because to persist in living in an unsanitary environment is to die prematurely by installment. Similarly, provision of toilets in business environment creates employment for the personnel that will man the facilities, the soap and brush manufacturers as well as the artisans that will construct and maintain them.

 

Consequently, employers of labour and owners of businesses should endevour to provide good toilets for their employers, not leaving out motor parks and markets. The aforementioned should also be provided with good and hygienic rest rooms for travelers and customers respectively. This would by no means contribute to healthy living in the society but also add to the economic development of the country.

 

In all, as the global community celebrate the World Toilet Day 2016, government at all levels as well as all major stakeholders  should not relent in carrying out public enlightenment activities to promote attitudinal changes towards eradicating open defecation and other such unhygienic habits. The citizens too should handle issues of the environment with zest because the environment is the super structure on which the survival of other sectors rest. It is whatever we throw at the environment that it throws back at us.

 

BILKIS OGUNNUBI