Wasting Time

Five years ago on Christmas Day, my mother got us hustled in the middle of Havana. A man with his arm in a sling and cast (which were, as it turned out, fake) and his pretend wife began chatting with us. They were keen to get us back to their place to – in theory – give us an urgent letter to take to their Canadian friend. Despite feeling less than safe in the company of our new companions, we played along with them, half believing they were telling the truth, and half just wanting to see where it might lead. Bad choices make great stories, right?

On this day, my family’s zest for misguided adventure lead us into the heart of downtown Havana, which was bursting with life, and a culture foreign to our own. The music, the people, the animals, the dilapidated architecture – everything had a vibrancy, a color and a rhythm that pulsed incessantly. This was the real Cuba.

We accompanied the couple into what looked like an abandoned building, but was in fact home to a large number of families. Fabric in place of doors separated the hollowed out rooms lining the dank corridors. Water was dripping through the open roof; the smell of human waste permeated the space. Within half an hour, we’d been transported from the illusory comfort of Cuban tourist hangouts to the slums of Havana.

In the end, there was no letter to a Canadian friend, only stale, dried cigars and t-shirts for sale, and two hungry people needing money to feed their families.

That same night we continued on to the opulent Hotel Naciónal. I felt almost embarrassed by the porcelain perfection of the hotel's bathrooms. I couldn’t forget the smell of that building and the bucket in the middle of the hallway that was a catch-all toilet used by every member of every family. The inescapable stench, not to mention the potential for illness and contamination from such a lack of proper sanitation seemed unnecessary -- and deeply disturbing.  My visit to the slums of Havana had given me a brief glimpse into the lives of impoverished billions around the world.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), half of the world’s population is currently living without adequate sanitation, while the other half lives unaware, uninterested, or unsure of how to help. The number of people affected, and the related diseases and mortality rates make this more than an important news item; this is a full-scale global crisis. And yet somehow it remains under our radar. Sanitation development initiatives are often only paid lip service by combining them with higher profile water projects, diminishing their importance.

So, the question then becomes: how can we – the people living with modern sanitation systems, the people who don’t need to think twice about where to get clean water to bathe in, the people who always have somewhere to go to the bathroom, the people who have the means to make a change, and the people who are desensitized to almost all forms of media – be forced to pay attention?

Direct contact is, of course, the primary means by which people awaken to world issues in a strong and meaningful way. There are many other ways to raise one’s awareness about the sanitation crisis: through documentary films, lectures, research, volunteer placement in a developing country, an accidental adventure like mine, or by reading an article like this one. The means is secondary to the message. What is important is that we begin to get the message out with impact. But, again, how to do it? Western society by and large, is media-saturated. We are so overloaded with stimuli and heart-wrenching news stories that we suffer from compassion fatigue, and are in danger of becoming completely numb to the needs of the world.

 
For me, seeing unsanitary living conditions first-hand lead me to research and study water quality in developing nations and, later, work professionally in water and wastewater treatment. Connecting to and experiencing a hot-topic issue is a guaranteed wake up call, but how can we access those who do not have first-hand experience? In the case of the global sanitation crisis, perhaps simply presenting the public with the shocking facts will act as enough of a wake up call.

The WHO states that half the world's population, or “about 2.6 billion people lack access to adequate sanitation globally.” UNESCO reports that 80% of these people are living in Asia. The causes of this sanitation crisis are many: a lack of funding, a lack of access to uncontaminated water, and rising populations in areas that already can't handle the waste that's being produced. According to UNESCO, only 18% of the Asian population has access to a sewer system, and in Africa, just 13% of the population has access.

Although the WHO and the UN offer staggering facts relating to the global sanitation crisis and its disastrous effects on human lives in the developing world, it remains a relatively "quiet" issue. Goal 7 of the UN's Millennium Development Goals (Environmental Sustainability) states the objective to:

“halve, by 2015, the proportion of the population without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation.”

As of 2010, it looks as though this Millennium Goal will not be met. Though efforts to improve access to clean drinking water are underway, sanitation remains a grave concern. And we must understand that proper sanitation systems go hand in hand with clean drinking water. With acceptable sanitation systems in place, water that is free from pathogens, viruses and disease can become more readily accessible.

Spreading knowledge is key to furthering this cause, both here and on-the-ground in the developing world. Programs can be developed and funding can be provided, but knowledge is foremost and  crucial to making progress in this case. Funding must be combined with resources, management systems and the simple dissemination of knowledge at home and in the third world. Until we spread the word and present alternatives, we aren't likely to see a change, and the simple facts speak to the necessity of change. The UN reports that “open defecation is practiced by 1.1 billion people,” with the highest amount in Sub-Sahara Africa and Southern Asia. As journalist Rose George (author of “The Big Necessity: The Unmentionable World of Human Waste and Why It Matters”) states that up to "50 different diseases can be carried in human waste." In their report "the Human Waste," WaterAid and Tearfund state that "diarrhea claims the lives of nearly 6,000 children a day," and from human waste in their environment, UNICEF reports that "children in developing countries commonly carry up to 1,000 hookworms, roundworms, and whipworms at a time, causing anemia, stunted growth, and other debilitating conditions."

Newly graduated from an undergraduate degree in engineering, I took a job starting up wastewater treatment plants. Slipping on some polymer on my first day of work and landing in wastewater sludge was a good way to slide into the field, so to speak. In order to stay safe while in close contact with all manner of waste, I had to get Hepatitis A, B, and tetanus shots, and stay very much aware of all contact with waste. I spent workdays in and around upset wastewater plants overflowing onto the ground, wearing rubber boots to walk through pools of waste. But as strong and affecting as my experiences have been, I am acutely aware that they have been within temporary, controlled environments. And knowing that half the world’s population lives without the ability to even treat wastewater is something I find unfathomable.

Working with wastewater also made me understand how critical it is to have clean water for the simple task of washing your hands. Living in relatively sterile conditions, with ready access to sinks, soap and water, it can be difficult to grasp the very real danger posed by a lack of hand washing. WaterAid and Tearfund report that “the simple act of washing your hands with soap (or ash, or earth) and water after going to the toilet is estimated to reduce diarrheal disease by a third.”

To most of us, dirt and waste are what “other people” deal with. We wash our hands, we go to the bathroom, and our waste simply... disappears and we return to any sink or tap to find fresh water. The UN reports "an estimated 1500 km³ of wastewater is produced worldwide," which in its World Water Day 2010 report, is "six times the total water from rivers from across the world." Without proper treatment of this wastewater, it goes directly back into the water supply, contaminating and polluting the source, and beginning a vicious cycle of disease.

The UN states that a reported “90% of sewage in the developing world goes untreated” and existing wastewater plants can be lax when it comes to complying with water quality standards. There isn’t a lot of funding, there's a good deal of corruption in the industry, and sometimes there aren’t many regulations in place to begin with.

Turning an international spotlight on the sanitation crisis will promote change in third world water and wastewater treatment regulations, as well as the related political issues in developing nations.

As you begin to learn more about the sanitation crisis, like I have (and as you will hopefully continue to do after reading this article), you will be met with statistics, stories and potential solutions that simply demand our continued attention. We do not lack the means and we do not lack compassion; we simply lack awareness of the facts and of how to move forward.

Kudos to the UN for including sanitation in the Environmental Sustainability Millennium Goals for 2015. It is certainly a fitting category, although it could easily have fallen under Child Health or another one of the key goal categories.

At the moment, “green” issues and caring about the environment remain strong on the public and political radars. Corporations are making green efforts a priority, focusing on carbon reductions, water treatment improvements, and contributions to green investments. If we can frame sanitation as a green issue to get the attention of the trend-fueled media, let's take advantage of that. If we have to put facts on flyers with the heading "Free Stuff Here!"... so be it. The statistics are there, and they don't seem to be changing at any rapid pace, so the best way to start making a change is to make sure the voices of the global sanitation crisis are heard, through the buzz of digital media and across all social strata. Not everyone has the advantage of first-hand knowledge, so it's time to do everything we can to get this issue to the top of the agenda. Let's improve the environment, let's go "green" if trend demands it, let's get this crisis noticed as the major issue it is and let's not waste the opportunity to flush the world's attention towards sanitation.

To learn about innovative solutions addressing the world's water & sanitation crisis, please visit www.acumenfund.org.

To see other videos, print ads, essays, and creative campaigns that are helping to raise awareness about sanitation, visit www.searchfortheobvious.com/sanitation/winners.