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Conclusion

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The Future of Sanitation Until now, I have solely focused on the human influences on levels of water availability and how economic water scarcity can be a principal cause of poor sanitation. I would like to conclude my blogs by outlining the future of these sanitation issues in relation to climate change.Growing freshwater demand coupled with high intrinsic fluctuation of water resources and increased extreme weather events across Africa result in an uncertain future, this evokes questions pertaining to the longevity of localised sanitation systems and infrastructure. The i mpact of intensive rainfall on urban groundwater quality and will require measured strategies to prevent any transmission of pathogens, predominantly faecal to oral.  In regard to low-cost, on-site water and sanitation systems often found in informal settlements, there is great shared- use of the subsurface meaning that risk of groundwater contamination from runoff, infiltration, and spill over is high.  Increase
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The Economics of the Sanitation Crisis

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As established, many of the prevalent Sanitation issues exist in informal and insecure settlements in Sub-Saharan Africa. These prove to be huge challenges on which to base estimates for the implementation of technology and ascertaining who holds the right to what as these areas are often unregulated and circumvent tax systems meaning that citizens are undocumented and unaccounted for. I have introduced the possible solutions and approaches to the sanitation crisis in Africa and I will now go on explore a more complex issue behind these solutions which is the cost of sanitation and the obstacles around this that prevail. We have established that a lack of safe water is central to the sanitation crisis, this water infrastructure (the water system life cycle),  'has four main activities: construction, operation, maintenance and demolition of the systems. Within the operation activity, there are eight life-cycle stages' (Jones et al 2012, 234*) already the complexity of the pro
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Who Is Involved?

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From the domestic dwelling through to the collection and disposal of waste exist sanitation services - these make up the sanitation systems in a specific locality and different actors are involved in their provision, or lack of. For   O'Keefe et al (2015, 423) , sanitation services necessitate the 'payment of money for the provision of a technology or waste related service'. Market driven sanitation is an approach that is increasingly being pushed because of the recognition that people are already paying for these services and this can create 'mutual benefit for users and providers of the system' (O'Keefe et al, 2015: 428) as a more reliable source of funds to draw on.  Urban areas in many sub-Saharan African cities, typically run by multiple actors, are left with a 'complex patchwork of provision systems, which do not align to form a coherent and sustainable sanitation system' (O'Keefe et al (2015, 422). These players act on different scales and a
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Excremental Politics

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Human waste has been politicised in a myriad of ways and sanitation is increasingly pertinent to discussions on urban poverty and informal settlements across the global South. For some contextual insight, the paradox of modernity is the shocking reality that pervades a lot of Sub-Saharan Africa, whereby more people have access to a mobile phone than to a safe toilet ( Global Citizen ). It is useful to unpack sanitation on a quotidian level, 'sanitation' being reliant on governments and referring to hardware infrastructure, whilst 'hygiene' is more individualised and dependant on the availability of soap and water, as well as cultural practices that influence cleanliness. Mcfarlane and Silver  refer to sanitation as 'a networked problem' (2017, 125) whereby aspects such as cultural politics, resource distribution, every day habits and political capacity are all inextricably linked. One potent example of the politicised nature of urban sanitation is the 'po
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Economic Water Scarcity

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I deem it necessary to deviate from my posts about the effects and and possible solutions of poor sanitation, and interject with a post about why  this remains prevalent in our modern world. In order to gain a comprehensive understanding about the issue, the reasons behind it must also be foregrounded in my discussions. As I cannot explore all of the wide-ranging catalysts, I will focus on one in this blog - economic water scarcity. Not to be conflated with physical water scarcity, this type of scarcity is ' caused by a lack of investment in water or a lack of human capacity to satisfy the demand for water, even in places where water is abundant' according to the FAO .  In short, it means that the water is there but cannot be accessed, used, or distributed. According to Seckler et al (1999, 37) several countries need to 'embark on massive water development programmes to actually utilise their resources'.  Below, figure 1 displays a map of this economic water scarcity
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World Toilet Day

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As 'World Toilet Day 2019' approaches, I thought it would be fitting to continue my series of blogs with an introduction to how a lack of adequate toilets is a fundamental part of the sanitation crisis. The website for World Toilet Day  describes these facilities not just as toilets, but as 'life-savers' and 'opportunity-makers' ( WTD ). Its purpose is to draw attention to those whose suffering is overlooked, those who lack in adequate sanitation and safe facilities. 673 million people still practise open defecation worldwide ( WTD ), toilets remain at the forefront of the sanitation crisis as arguably the biggest issue to tackle. We often take for granted our ceramic flush toilets that allow for convenient urination and defecation. For millions in the developing world, toilets do not constitute of anything more than a uncomplicated collection device such as a plastic bag informally known as the 'flying toilet'. Lusambili describes the process as '
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'Water is a Women's Issue'

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" Water is a women's issue" (TED Talk: 2016 ) -  Welcome back to my blog concerning sanitation insecurity around the world.  This quote concisely sums up what I will subsequently discuss, the video inspired me to dedicate this blog solely to women's experience of sanitation.  It is useful to deconstruct these wider issues which is why this second blog continues by introducing the matter of sanitation and women. Caruso et al (2017)* propose a novel term for the absence of adequate sanitation in all capacities, 'sanitation insecurity'. The condensed version of their definition is 'i nsufficient and uncertain access to socio-cultural and social environments that respect and respond to the sanitation needs of individuals, and to adequate physical spaces and resources for independently, comfortably, safely, hygienically, and privately urinating, defecating, and managing menses'.  Whilst menstruation is experienced universally, 'girls in resource-poo
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