Ethiopians' plight: 'The toilets are unhealthy, but we don't have a choice'
Officials plan to build extra public conveniences in Addis Ababa, which has
just 63 loos for its 3 million inhabitants
* <
http://www.theguardian.com/profile/davidsmith> David Smith in
Addis Ababa
* Monday 01 September 2014 15.40 BST
Addis Ababa has more than 3 million people, but there are just 63 public
toilets. At one, in the oldest part of the city, there is constant activity
and bustle as people queue to pay varying prices for a urinal, full cubicle
or shower in the white-tiled facility inside a circular yellow building. For
many, this is the only option because of the lack of provision in their own
homes.
Nine in 10 households use "non-improved" toilet facilities, according to the
<
http://www.washethiopiamovement.com> Wash Ethiopia Movement. The most
common type of non-improved toilet is an open pit latrine or pit latrine
without slabs, used by 57% of households in rural areas and 43% in urban.
Only one in 25 households has access to improved toilet facilities which are
not shared with other households.
Mesay Berhanu, a spokesman for the movement, said: "Many people have shared
toilet facilities which they would not find very comfortable. They might
have to line up for some time to make use of the facilities. As a result,
you may find people doing it here or there along the street."
Government figures show that diarrhoeal diseases are among the 10 most
prolific in the country. "These are one way or another linked to an
unhygienic environment," Berhanu added.
<
http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/video/2014/aug/28/toilets-vid
eo-animation> Link to video: Toilets: 2.5bn people go without – a 99-second
video animation
Waste can accumulate because service providers are stretched. "There is a
huge problem in liquid waste management. The number of vehicles they have to
collect it is limited. People might have to wait two or three months. We
have a very small number of private operators in liquid waste collection."
Progress has stalled, Berhanu said, because of bureaucracy. "A year ago
there was a plan to create more than 1,000 public toilets, but there is a
lack of co-ordination between different departments of government.One of the
main challenges is the coordination of the various actors."
But officials in this
<
http://africanarguments.org/2013/11/19/extraordinary-ethiopia-ancient-boomi
ng-but-undemocratic-by-richard-dowden> fast-developing city say they have a
100m birr (£3m) plan to build an extra 25 public toilets within the next
year along with 103 community and 289 mobile toilets, the latter equipped
for pregnant women and people with disabilities. About 150 areas have been
identified, including markets and bus and train stations.
Mulugeta Kemise, of the <
http://www.aawsainfo.gov.et> Addis Ababa Water and
Sewerage Authority, said: "We are trying to improve the lot of the
downtrodden masses. After five, six or seven years you'll see the
difference. We are doing our best to transform the lives of our people."
At a community toilet shared by 35 households in an impoverished
neighbourhood of Addis Ababa the scene is typical: behind a corrugated iron
door, beside dirty scraps of paper and tissue, is a small, dark hole in the
floor. Above, a cable runs to a naked lightbulb. The stench is rank. These
four toilets are used by more than 200 people a day. Those who live here
describe them as undignified, unhygienic and inhuman.
"They're dirty and it's not good for our health," said Berhane Keraga, 45, a
housewife who gave birth eight times here. "They make a lot of men, women
and children ill with typhoid and diarrhoea. A couple of months ago I got
sick and had to go to hospital because of these toilets. I felt cold and
shivering and had a headache and stomach ache."
The lavatories, housed in concrete blocks under a corrugated roof, encourage
flies and rodents. "There are really black scary rats that come and run on
our feet. It's disgusting, and when my children use these toilets I feel
really bad." Nor is there separation between men and women, Keraga added:
"It's undignified for women. It's difficult for me to use sanitary products.
Some women urinate in bowls at home then dispose of them."
Since the toilets were built by a non-government organisation more than a
decade ago they have been neglected, despite appeals to the government. The
community pays 1,200 birr for waste removal once or twice a month and has
recently started charging outsiders 1 birr to use them. Girma Taddese, a
furniture maker, said: "These toilets are not safe, healthy or hygienic for
children. A lot of people fall sick because the toilets get filled quickly.
The smell is very disgusting. It fills the air and our kids play on the
ground. We can't take it." Holding his two-year-old daughter, Blen Girma, he
adds: "I don't like her using these toilets. I feel so sad about our lives,
but we don't have a choice."
Received on Mon Sep 01 2014 - 09:56:46 EDT