Why is better sanitation so important
Sanitizing in Senegal
Photos that show why better sanitation is so important.
The next time you flush a toilet, consider this: 1 billion people defecate in the open. Another 4 billion use rudimentary toilets and their waste is never treated.
I have visited communities where this is a sobering fact of life. The smell can be overwhelming, but even worse, the sewage seeps into the water supply, spreading disease. Poor sanitation is linked to the deaths of some 700,000 children every year.
Our foundation is funding the Omni Processor, a machine that we hope will make sanitation affordable.
One version of the Omni Processor was developed by Janicki Bioenergy, a company in Washington state. This spring the Janicki OP was shipped to Dakar for a pilot project.
Dakar is a vibrant city of 3.4 million people. More than a million of them are not connected to a sewer line, so they use pit latrines, septic tanks, or other unsafe facilities in or around their homes.
Dr. Mbaye Mbeguere is one of the Senegalese officials leading this pilot project. You can see the Janicki OP behind him. Dr. Mbeguere and his colleagues hope Omni Processors will change the face of sanitation in cities around the world. I am optimistic that they are right.
