Sanitation Infrastructure

Following on from my last post I have realised how key funding is to sanitation infrastructure. By infrastructure I refer to the physical facilities needed along with organisational structures required to keep a project moving. There are multiple sources of investment; market, NGOs, government or private individuals. Each of these need to be explored as I currently believe none of these options can succeed on their own. It's important when considering funding to incorporate the entire infrastructure required. It is easy to gift a single toilet to a community for political gain, 'poolitical tactics', but if training is not available and maintenance is not taught, the project will be unsuccessful. New sanitation infrastructure can be built to be resilient and sustainable, saving money in the long term, providing jobs, and a good quality of life for millions of individuals.

With 90 percent of the world population set to live in an urban environment by 2050, millions of new homes will be needed, and in turn extensive new sanitation systems. Instead of allowing informal settlements and slums to pop up wherever, local authorities and governments should plan this urban expansion, ensuring logistical issues such as narrow streets and muddy paths are avoided.  This would allow adequate sanitation and water infrastructure to be set up in the process. The absence of government provision has created the opportunity for profitable but largely unregulated businesses to develop in informal settlements. 

Figure 1: Contaminated waterways in Kampala

Infrastructural issues in the urban landscape have multiple challenges. Part of the issue with government funding is if a settlement is unrecognised. If these areas are not considered to be under governmental jurisdiction the ability or need to gather accurate data is lost. Without this information authorities lack knowledge about the problem, leaving them unable to find a solution. Another challenge is that multiple governmental departments could be involved in problem solving, people tend to have unique opinions which don't always lead to compromise. Health ministries need to work with engineers, urban planners and communities to create well functioning built environments that improve quality of life. 

NGOs tend to become involved in communities with only intentions. I have seen first hand how wasteful these projects can become if a community is not on board from the beginning, with a structured plan for the future also in place. The Gates Foundation is a large contributor financially to sanitation projects across the globe, they state 'innovative sanitation solutions are easier to deploy and less expensive to operate than sewer systems and wastewater treatment plants' in informal settlements in Sub-saharan Africa. 

With this in mind a possible way forward is co-operation between multiple parties with a reinvention of how sanitation infrastructure is constructed. In informal settlements and slums already in existence, a reinvention is necessary as sewage systems and waste treatment plants cannot now be put in place. Instead, if investment is put into eco-sanitation such as Sanergy a positive future is possible for current and possible informal settlements. Projects like Sanergy create jobs, remove waste from site, involve the community in franchises and use the waste as fertiliser.  

Sanergy is an NGO and for profit organisation set up by graduates on MIT, however 90 percent of their employees are individuals to live in areas of operation. The company is responsible for the construction of facilities and the collection and treatment of wastes; by removing faecal matter from the site there is less risk of groundwater contamination and overall greater satisfaction with the facilities. Without Sanergy users of the toilets are responsible for cleaning and emptying the pits, either doing it themselves or employing private moderators to do it, these hired hands set the price themselves and with no governmental equivalent to keep them in check many must do it themselves. Faecal matter collected by Sanergy is processed and converted in organic fertiliser which can be sold for profit. In the future the revenue from the sale of this fertiliser could cover the cost of physical infrastructure as well and management of waste collection. 

Figure 2: User satisfaction of an average toilet versus one provided by Sanergy.

An issue with Sanergy's set up though is that local entrepreneurs invest in these toilets with the aim of making a profit from them. These toilets are not free. Landlords are yet to invest themselves as unless rent is raised or other investment is made by local authorities they will be out of pocket. Market based approaches like Sanergy are a great start but without governmental policy, strategy and funding they can only go so far.

The old view of sanitation infrastructure no longer works. A new, innovative co-operative approach is how access to sanitation will improve across the world, helping communities in multiple ways, creating positive futures for millions.