Title | Programs and pollution : establishing universal sanitation coverage in rural Bangladesh : presentation to Society for Applied Anthropology annual me... |
Publication Type | Conference Paper |
Year of Publication | 2011 |
Authors | Hanchett, S |
Pagination | 12 p. |
Date Published | 2011-03-01 |
Keywords | access to sanitation, bangladesh, diarrhoeal diseases, faecal-disposal diseases, faeces, human excreta, rural areas, sanitation services |
Abstract | Modern sanitation, by definition, entails careful management of human feces. An adequate “sanitation” situation, as defined by public health science, means that everyone living in a specific place must avoid open defecation, confining feces in some way, while also taking other measures to prevent fecal-oral disease transmission. For more than 100 years now this strategy has been used in Europe, North America, and other places to prevent cholera epidemics and other diarrheal diseases. Universal latrine usage and frequent hand washing are the cornerstones of the strategy. Widespread sanitation (usually meaning just latrine use) is a rather new idea in Bangladesh. Until the 1980s household latrine use was limited to relatively educated and affluent social groups. By now, however, a large percentage of Bangladesh households, even in rural areas, have the habit of using some kind of ‘improved’ latrine. The most common type is a single-pit model: a two- to ten-foot deep lined pit covered with a concrete squat slab. Covering the top is important, as it prevents insects from flying in and out of the pit and spreading disease. [authors abstract] |
Notes | With bibliography on p. 11 - 12 |
Custom 1 | 303 |