Regional report Asia : landscape analysis and business model assessment in fecal sludge management

The link between unsafe sanitation and disease is widely recognized and published, in particular its impact on child mortality and the global disease burden. Examples of diseases transmitted through water contaminated with human waste are diarrhea, cholera, dysentery, typhoid and hepatitis A. Poor hygiene, sanitation and unsafe drinking water together are responsible for 88% of diarrheal disease infections. Progress made in urban sanitation appears positive. In South and Southeast Asia, 65% of the 788 million people living in urban areas, has access to improved sanitation and a further 16% use shared facilities. Improved sanitation, in the JMP definition, is defined as facilities that “ensure hygienic separation of human excreta from human contract”. However this picture is too optimistic. Toilets alone do not ensure hygienic separation of human excreta from human contact. Several sources suggest that the vast majority of urban coverage in South and Southeast Asia is either stand-alone on-site sanitation or a combination of onsite/off-site facilities. All these facilities need to be emptied, once again posing a risk of human contact with feces. [authors abstract]