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Open defecation

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Open defecation in Pandharpur - a pilgrimage town in India - despite the availability of some (filthy) toilets, many pilgrims prefer to defecate in the open
Indiscriminate waste dumping and open defecation in the area of Shadda, Cap-Haitien, Haiti. In the background, the areas of EPPLs (seaside) and Laborie (hill).
Women raising awareness about the health impact of open defecation in Nepal.

Open defecation is the practice of defecating outside and in public, in and around the local community, as a result of ingrained cultural patterns or having no access to toilets, latrines or any kind of improved sanitation. It currently affects one billion people in the developing world, or 15% of the global population. It is a practice widely considered to be at the heart of issues around sanitation worldwide.

Practice

Members of the Luftstreitkräfte defecating outside during World War I

Open defecation is done all over the world in camping type situations and represents no health problems when done in sparsely populated settlements and when the "cat method" is used, i.e. covering the feces with some soil, leaves or sand. During war times, soldiers may also revert to this option. It may also be the method of choice for hikers and campers in remote areas.

However, open defecation becomes a significant health problem and an issue for human dignity when it occurs in more densely populated areas, such as in larger villages or in urban informal settlements in developing countries. Here, the practise is usually associated with poverty.

Use of the term

The term "open defecation" has become more widely known and used in the WASH sector since the publications of the Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation (JMP), which is a joint program by WHO and UNICEF to monitor the water and sanitation targets for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). For monitoring purposes, two categories were created: improved sanitation and unimproved sanitation. Open defecation falls into the latter category. This means that people doing open defecation are counted as not having access to improved sanitation.

The term "open defecation" has also become more popular due to the successes of the Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) programmes which have shown promising results in many countries after starting in Bangladesh by Dr. Kamal Kar. In the CLTS system, a village can be declared "open defecation free" (ODF) if all villagers are using toilets (the toilets should normally have a water seal to prevent access by flies).

In 2013 when for the first time the World Toilet Day was celebrated as an official UN day, the term "open defecation" was used in speeches at the highest level which helped to draw attention to this problem.

Prevalence

The highest number in absolute terms of people doing open defecation is in India, where various initiatives are ongoing now to reduce open defecation, one of them being called the "Total Sanitation Campaign" - not to be confused with Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS).

Health impact

A single gram of human faeces contains as much as 10,000,000 viruses, 1,000,000 bacteria, 1,000 parasite cysts and 100 parasite eggs. When ingested it can therefore lead to typhoid, cholera, hepatitis, polio, pneumonia, fatal worm infestation, trachoma, stunted physical development and impaired cognitive function. It makes open defecation a leading cause of diarrheal death; 2,000 children under the age of five die every day, one every 40 seconds, from diarrhea.

Efforts to reduce open defecation

See also

References

  1. "OpenDefecation.org". 2014-05-28. Retrieved 2014-05-28.
  2. "Sanitation | International Decade for Action 'Water for Life' 2005-2015". Un.org. 2013-07-24. Retrieved 2014-03-10.
  3. "Toilets - The Facts - New Internationalist". Newint.org. Retrieved 2014-03-10.
  4. "Open Defecation and Childhood Stunting in India: An Ecological Analysis of New Data from 112 Districts". Plos One. Retrieved 2014-03-10.
  5. "WHO | Diarrhoeal disease". Who.int. Retrieved 2014-03-10.
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