water, sanitation and dignity 1 stefanie kaiser, seecon international gmbh

Water, Sanitation and Dignity


1

Stefanie Kaiser, seecon international gmbh


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Contents

1. Introduction

2. Dignity, Water and Sanitation

3. Groups Vulnerable to Indignity

4. Sustainable Sanitation and Human Dignity

5. References

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Worldwide use of improved sanitation facilities in 2008. Source: WHO & UNICEF (2010)

“Water is life. Sanitation is dignity.”

1. Introduction

... but in 2012, still 2.5 billion people lack improved sanitation facilities... and 780 million people do not use improved sources of drinking water. UNICEF (2012)



What Does Dignity in Relation to Water and Sanitation Mean?


Dignity = A being has an innate right to respect and ethical treatment.

Today‘s situation:• Inequalities by different access to water & sanitation.• The poor often must be content with polluted water and unhealthy & unsafe sanitation facilities.• Unsheltered or far away defecation options leave women exposed to risks and with a sense of shame. GNANAKAN et al. (2004)

To fight these inequalities is a precondition to ensure a life in dignity for everybody.

Source: LIFEWATER (2012)



• Is rooted in the cultural and religious traditions of societies around the world and enshrined in international human rights instruments. UNMP-TWS (2005)

• e.g. “The right to life and human dignity” in the International Bill of Human Rights.

The right to sanitation entitles every person to access to, and use of, excreta and wastewater facilities and services that ensure privacy and dignity.

Access to Water and Sanitation as Moral and Ethical Imperative




#1 The Poor


Various societal groups are facing everyday life circumstances which do not correspond to the concept of a life in dignity:

The Poor:In developing countries, 90 % of the sewage from conventional toilets is flushed into surface waters, polluting rivers, lakes and coastal areas. This has contributed to the spread of diseases mainly amongst the poor. GNANAKAN et al. (2004); UNICEF

(2006)

Due to absence of waste management, these community members in Senegal, are cleaning their water stream from solid waste. Source: TRATSCHIN (2007)



#2 Women, Girls and Children

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Source: www.wsp.org/wsp/content/2012-cartoon-calendar [Accessed: 03.10.2012]

• Indignity to defecate and urinate in the open.• Risk of assault, rape outside the village as well as in urban areas. COHRE et al. (2008)

• Poor hygienic conditions of public sanitary facilities• Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM)• Waiting until dark, drinking less, ‘holding out’ or modifying their diets.• This causes physical harm and all kinds of health problems.• At least 1.8 million children die every year as a result of unclean water and poor sanitation. LIFEWATER (2012)



#3 Sick and Elderly People & People with Disabilities


• Sick and elderly people face special difficulty and a loss of dignity when sanitation facilities are not available nearby. GNANAKAN et al. (2004)

• Attempts to increase coverage of basic services such as water and sanitation have too often marginalised or excluded the needs of disabled people. HANDICAP INTERNATIONAL (2008)

An elderly man uses a walking stick as he walks past concrete latrine covers in Kitgum. Source: www.trust.org/alertnet/blogs/the-debating-chamber/innovations-to-expand-sanitation-as-a-business [Accessed: 16.10.2012]



#4 Forced Manual Excreta Scavengers


• Inadequate sanitation solutions also maintain inequalities within societies.• Mainly in India, but as well other parts of South Asia, several people (called „Dalit“ or „Untouchables“) are forced to do the extremely degrading and inhumane practice of manually cleaning and removing human excreta from dry (non-flush) toilets. GNANAKAN et al. (2004)

Passing the faecal sludge to the top of the pit latrine.Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/gtzecosan/5014308128/in/photostream [Accessed: 16.10.2012]



Sustainable Sanitation as Contribution to Restoring Human Dignity

4. Sustainable Sanitation and Dignity

By promoting sustainable

sanitation, human dignity can be

restored in many aspects of human

life:

Adapted from GNANAKAN et al. (2004); BRUECHER et al. (2005)

EducationSchool

sanitation increases girls’

enrolment.

Economy If waste is turned

into a useful resource, this

restores the dignity of those dealing

with it.

Exploitation Sanitation

options which foreclose the

direct handling of human faeces.

Health & Safety More and more

safely constructed toilets can enable people to leave the vicious cycle of diseases and

poverty.



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5. ReferencesBRUECHER, J.; CONRADIN, K.; KROPAC, M.; WILLARETH, M. (Editor) (2005): Ecological Sanitation - A Sustainability Approach. With an Indian Case Study on Social Aspects and a Critical Think Piece on Economic Aspects. Seminar “Socially Acceptable Technical Innovations”, Programme MGU (Mensch-Gesellschaft-Umwelt). Basel: University of Basel.

COHRE (Editor); WATERAID SDC (Editor); UN-HABITAT (Editor) (2008): Sanitation: A human Rights Imperative. Geneva: Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE).

HANDICAP INTERNATIONAL (Editor) (2008): How To Build an Accessible Environment in Developing Countries. Manual No. 2 – Access to Water and Sanitation Facilities. Part 1 – Toilets and Closed Showers. Phnom Pemh: Handicap International France Cambodia Program. URL: www.handicap-international.org.uk/Resources/Handicap%20International/PDF%20Documents/HI%20Associations/AccessibleEnvironmentDev2_Part1_2008.pdf [Accessed: 06.04.2011].

GNANAKAN, K.; JENSSEN, P.D.; HEEB, J.; HUBA-MANG, E.; WARNER, W.; REFSGAARD, K.; STENSTROEM, T.A.; GUTERSTRAM, B.; ALSEN, K.W. (2004): Ecological Sanitation and Reuse of Wastewater. Ecosan. A Thinkpiece on ecological sanitation. Norway: The Agricultural University of Norway. URL: ww.uio.no/studier/emner/medisin/inthealth/INTHE4000/h07/undervisningsmateriale/Water%20and%20Health%20article.pdf [Accessed: 19.04.2010].

Lifewater (2012): Potty Papers/Where Would You Go? URL:www.lifewater.org/wwyg [Accessed: 16.10.2012].

UNICEF (Editor) (2006): Children and Water: Global Statistics. New York: UNICEF. URL: http://www.unicef.org/wash/index_31600.html [Accessed: 29.04.2011].

UNICEF (2012): Water, Sanitation and Hygiene. Introduction. URL: www.unicef.org/wash [Accessed: 15.10.2012].

UN MILLENNIUM PROJECT TASK FORCE ON WATER AND SANITATION (UNMP-TWS) (Editor) (2005): Health, Dignity and Development: What Will it Take?. London: United Nations Development Programme. URL: www.unmillenniumproject.org/documents/WaterComplete-lowres.pdf [Accessed: 28.03.2011].



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5. ReferencesWHO (Editor); UNICEF (Editor) (2010): Progress on Sanitation and Drinking-Water. 2010 Update. Geneva: World Health Organisation (WHO) / New York: UNICEF. URL: www.unwater.org/downloads/JMP_report_2010.pdf [Accessed: 14.04.2011].

Water, Sanitation and Dignity 14

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