DEVELOPING COMPOSTING DRY TOILETS: A VITAL APPROACH TO SUSTAINABLE SANITATION IN GHANA (MANAGEMENT PROJECT TOPICS AND MATERIALS)
1Â Â Â Â Â GENERAL INTRODUCTION
1.1Â Â Â Â Â Â Economics of Sanitation Initiative (ESI)
The Economics of Sanitation Initiatives is a program launched by the Water and Sanitation Program (WSP) to study the economic impacts of poor sanitation and the costs and benefits of improved sanitation options. The goal of the ESI is to provide concrete evidence for the need to increase investment in improved sanitation and to provide an improved evidence-base for efficient planning and implementation of sustainable sanitation and hygiene programs (WSP, n.d). Although there’s widespread recognition of the human and social handicaps from poor sanitation typically in developing countries its economic losses was not well recognized. The ESI study attempts to provide economic estimates and losses from the adverse effect of inadequate sanitation to including related losses on health (deaths and diseases), welfare and tourism (WSP, n.d). The infographics below shows a big gap in sanitation and the economic losses from a global inadequate sanitation.
Globally 2.5 billion people lack access to improved sanitation representing 40 percent of the global population- in a simple breakdown there’s 1 in 3 persons who lacks access to toilet according to Water.org (n.d). Access to safe sanitation and clean water is a basic human rights that everyone is entitled to and must be available for use at all times of the day and night and must be hygienic the UNW-DPAC (2015) adds, however, significant proportion of the global population has no access to it. By ensuring adequate provision of safe sanitation and clean drinking water we not only impacting public health but contributing significantly to sustainable and socio-economic developments as well as promoting a healthy ecosystem (UNDESA, 2015).
According to the ESI and WHO publication ‘Global costs and benefits of drinking-water supply and sanitation interventions to reach the MDG target and universal coverage’ it is estimated that about $260 billion monetary value is lost every year due to lack of safe sanitation and water which is equivalent to a 1.5 percent of combined GDP of developing countries. The areas of the world with least access to improved sanitation include 69 percent of the population of sub-Saharan Africa and 62 percent of those living in south Asia (WSP, n.d). By addressing the Economics of Sanitation Initiatives the study observes the limitedness of funds to resolve global sanitation gap giving that annual aid of water and sanitation amounts to $8 billion dollars which is far short of a $1 trillion needed to resolve this crisis and maintain its long term (Water.org, n.d). On a positive side there’s a proof of increased investment in the sector has favorable socio-economic returns to households and society, contributing improved health, clean environment, dignity and quality of life among others. In addition estimates on economic returns is favorable- globally every $1 spent on improved sanitation returns $5.5 (WSP, n.d)
