Description
Except in school-boy jokes, the subject of human wastes is rarely aired. We talk about ‘water-related’ diseases when most are sanitation-related – we don’t mention the…shit.This book breaks many silences surrounding today’s sanitation crisis. It de-couples the ‘water and sanitation’ connection, and argues that – to make real progress – we need a radical new mind-set. A century and a half ago, a long, hot summer reduced the Thames flowing past the UK Houses of Parliament to a ‘Great Stink’, thereby inducing MPs to legislate sanitary reform. Today, another sanitary reformation is needed, one that manages to spread cheaper and simpler systems to people everywhere. We must learn from historical experience how to abandon our ‘Great Distaste’ and do the business.In the byways of the developing world, much is quietly happening on the excretory frontier. This book takes us on a tour of those endeavours, in the company of today’s sanitary heroes. In 2008, the International Year of Sanitation, the authors bring – with humour and impeccable taste – this awkward subject to a wider audience than the world of international filth usually commands. They seek the elimination of the ‘Great Distaste’ so that people without political clout or economic muscle can claim their right to a dignified and hygienic place to ‘go’.The greatest threat to human health is sh*t and our reluctance to talk about it – this penetrating and highly readable book lifts the lid on the global sanitation crisis and the solutions already at hand. It tackles the cultural and social barriers to effective action to improve the health of 2.6 billion people. It provides ideal introduction for practitioners, students, activists and policy makers needing to understand the sanitation crisis. It is published with UNICEF for the 2008 UN International Year of Sanitation.
