Archive for the ‘Poverty’ Category
Our new animation, featuring Baroness Glenys Kinnock
Here at Wherever the Need, we continue to champion sustainable sanitation as the most efficient way to alleviate poverty. Whilst we continue to give some of the poorest people in the poorest countries a fighting chance, our progress is slowed because many people are unfamiliar, ill informed or turned off by the topic. Our last news article focused on the importance of sanitation within the context of providing people with an effective education programme, and highlighted the improved enrolment rates of young girls by providing them with hygienic and safe sanitation facilities. Our new animation looks at the bigger picture. The animation, created with the help of Bradley Bailey, will generate awareness of the issues surrounding inadequate sanitation and clearly explain how a toilet can change a life. In order to do this, we’ve presented the information in a vibrant, exciting and engaging way. After seeing an early draft of the animation, Baroness Glenys Kinnock kindly offered to narrate it. In reference to the animation, Glenys Kinnock said: “I am delighted to be able to help its efforts through this informative and fascinating animation”. Glenys added: “Wherever the Need is ...
Sohail Rahman Reports on India’s Sanitation Problems
Reporting for Al Jazeera, Sohail Rahman covers the sanitation problems facing India, which become increasingly pressing as population growth and urbanisation continue apace. Broadcasting from New Delhi he exposes the shocking statistics, including the fact that over 50% of Indians do not have access to a clean, constructed toilet and how 60% of all defecation in the world occurs in India. It is also demonstrated how this is not just an individual issue, as the World Bank reported last year that poor sanitation cost the country $54 billion as a result of the related health issues, decreased productivity and reduced tourists. You can now watch the short clip below: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RI_Q0ejCd7Y
UK Government Recognises Sanitation as Human Right
The World Health Organisation and the United Nations Children's Fund in their 2012 Joint Monitoring Programme report estimated that over 1/3 of the world's population do not have access to adequate sanitation. The WHO also estimates that 1.4 million children are dying from diarrhoeal disease every year, the vast majority of which is due to inadequate water, sanitation and hygiene; yet access to sanitation is one of the most off-target Millennium Development Goals. Following a review of international law, under the remit of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the UK government has formally recognised access to Sanitation as a human right under international law. In accordance with this, the Secretary of State for International Development (Andrew Michell) has committed to doubling the UK's ambitions on water, sanitation and hygiene to reach at least 60 million people by 2015. Hopefully this commitment by the UK government will mean that many of these deaths, which are mostly preventable with innovational projects such as WTN's Ecosan initiatives, can be avoided. If you, like the UK government, feel that sanitation is not getting the recognition the issue merits, please begin supporting us today, by signing up to follow us online (Facebook, ...
Private sector has potential to aid development, but beware the pitfalls
The Department for International Development (DFiD) wants to focus on the private sector but it must look closely at the risks. The private sector is not accountable to the public in the way the public sector is. Sanitation and water systems are often not available for the poorest people – and private developers cannot be held legally accountable for not offering them. The UK's Department for International Development awarded Vodafone funding to set up a mobile banking project in Kenya in 2003. DfID is keen to get the private sector involved in development projects. Read whole article Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Fiona Bruce narrates our new film
Well known BBC newsreader and presenter Fiona Bruce is the voice-over for our latest film, "Independence, not Dependence". The video gives an introduction to who we are, what we do and why we do it. We believe in creating the conditions to allow people to become empowered and independent in their way out of poverty, not becoming dependent upon foreign aid. Find out more by watching the film below.
India, Bihar: ‘Dirty, horrible job’ of manual scavengers
A manual scavenger carries a tin of human waste from a dry latrine. Photo: BBC “The worst thing is that the baskets we carry the waste in, often leak and drips down over your clothes”, manual scavenger Lakshmi Devi from rural Bihar tells BBC correspondent Mike Thomson. All her seven children are boys who clean out sewage tanks for their work. Manual removal of excreta (night soil) from “dry toilets” is the job of ‘dalit’ (low caste) women in India. “If I had a daughter I would rather that we all die of hunger than allow her to do the work we do”, Lakshmi said. Listen to Laksmi Devi’s interview (10 Nov 2010), which was broadcast on BBC Radio 4, and read a background article (17 Nov 2010) by Mike Thomson on scavengers from the serie on “India’s forgotten people”.
India: “We need a sanitation revolution”
India: ‘We need a sanitation revolution here’, says adviser to Urban Affairs minister Speaking at a workshop on the ‘City Sanitation Plan’ in Bangalore, the Adviser to Karnataka state Chief Minister on Urban Affairs A. Ravindra said: “We need a sanitation revolution in the country. There is a need to create public awareness and use innovative and low-cost technologies for better sanitation”. Adding to this, at the inauguration if the workshop, the Karnataka state Minister for Urban Development S. Suresh Kumar stated: “It is unfortunate that we have not made sanitation our priority. This is evident as according to a recent report, there are more mobile users than toilet users in the country. Sanitation does not only mean using toilets; it also includes efficient solid waste management, underground drainage network, and keeping our cities and towns clean”. Karnataka is looking to rank first in the second round of the National City Rating under the National Urban Sanitation Policy to be announced on 8 December 2010. In the first round in May 2010, Mysore secured the second place, while the eighth, 12th, 15th and 22nd positions went to Bangalore, Mangalore, Mandya and Bidar respectively. “We must strive to secure the first position next year. We must work ...
World Toilet Day, November 19th
November 19th is World Toilet Day. Join the Big Squat! A day to celebrate the importance of sanitation and raise awareness for the 2.6 billion people (nearly half of the world's population) who don't have access to toilets and proper sanitation. Where there are no toilets: 2.6 billion people worldwide are without access to proper sanitation, which risks their health, strips their dignity, and kills 1.8 million people, mostly children, a year. Diarrhoeal diseases kill five times as many children in the developing world as HIV/AIDS. That's 5,000 children DYING EVERY SINGLE DAY. Not only that, but the disease kills more children than either malaria or AIDS, stunts growth, and forces millions - adults and children alike - to spend weeks at a time off work or school, which hits both a country's economy and its citizens' chances of a better future. The majority of the illness in the world is caused by faecal matter. Lack of sanitation is the world's biggest cause of infection. One gram of faeces can contain 10 million viruses, one million bacteria, 1,000 parasite cysts and 100 parasite eggs. Safe disposal of children's faeces leads to a reduction of nearly 40% in childhood diarrhoea. Wherever the ...
Haiti: hygiene promotion is key
Haiti: hygiene promotion is key to preventing nationwide cholera epidemic, says Save the Children as death toll passes 900 As the death toll from Haiti’s cholera epidemic reached 917 on 12 November 2010, Save the Children says the best way to reduce the disease’s spread is to arm people with information and supplies to improve hygienic practices. Cholera has reached the capital Port-au-Prince, where 27 deaths have been recorded and over 1.3 million earthquake survivors living in tent camps are at risk. Throughout the country 14,600 cholera victims have been hospitalised. The United Nations forecasts up to 200,000 Haitians could contract cholera as the outbreak extends across the country of nearly 10 million, and says $163.9 million in aid is needed over the next year to combat the epidemic. In Gaston Margron, a camp where Save the Children works, the first suspected case of cholera has been identified. With a large number of deaths happening in the community, Save the Children fears that people may not be able to access health facilities when illness strikes. Also of concern is that people may not recognize the importance of seeking heath care immediately when they have any signs of symptoms – namely, acute watery diarrhea. Nick Ireland, ...
The good news of the decade?
Hans Rosling reframes 10 years of UN data with his unique visuals, proposing a fascinating theory: We're winning the war against child mortality.
Guardian podcast on the MDGs
In the wake of the UN millennium development goals summit, the Guardian looks at the challenge of meeting the needs of the world's poorest and ask what should happen to global development after 2015. Listen to the podcast here
The urban disaster
For the first time in the history of mankind, more people live in an urban environment than a rural one and in just 20 years, over 60 per cent of the world’s population will live in cities and towns. This Red Cross World Disasters Report 2010 focuses on urban risks around the world: Chapter 5 - urban risk to health (PDF 421kb) Find the full report here: www.ifrc.org/publicat/wdr2010/summaries.asp
Which bottom billion?
Approximately three quarters of the world's 1.3 billion poor people today live in middle-income countries, with the others living in low-income countries, mostly in Africa. See the interactive data here: http://gu.com/p/2jkxe
The World’s Toilet Crisis
Vanguard correspondent Adam Yamaguchi travels to India, Singapore and Indonesia to understand why people don't use toilets and what's being done to end the practice of open defecation. When human waste isn't contained or flushed down the toilet, it's everywhere - in streets, open fields and, most dangerously, in the very water people drink. Adam investigates how countries are trying to solve an epidemic that few people want to talk about - the world's toilet crisis:
UN declares sanitation and water a human right
After more than 15 years of debate on the issue, the UN has passed a resolution declaring "the right to safe and clean drinking water and sanitation as a human right that is essential for the full enjoyment of life and all human rights". The 192-member Assembly also called on UN Member States and international organisations to offer funding, technology and other resources to help poorer countries scale up their efforts to provide clean, accessible and affordable drinking water and sanitation for all. Read the full resolution text here: http://www.un.org/Docs/journal/asp/ws.asp?m=A/64/L.63/Rev.1
A photographer’s encounter in Kroo Bay
Shocked by the extreme unsanitary conditions he came across, a photographer has tried to document the living conditions in a Sierra Leone slum. See more here: http://www.globalhealthmagazine.com/cover_stories/kroo_bay
Sanitation saves lives
It has been shown that countries with the greatest improvement in sanitation are 8 - 9 times more likely to have the greatest reduction in infant and child mortality. Read more here: http://www.globalizationandhealth.com/content/6/1/12
Reading between poverty lines
Are poverty levels in rural India higher than has been previously thought? Find out more here: http://www.downtoearth.org.in/node/361
other news...
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Ripples cycle challenge success
£1,660 raised so far, and still counting! After enduring rain, ice and snow throughout their training, the Ripples team finally enjoyed some good weather as they dove into the 220-mile cycle ...
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Stories from the field – Marudor school
Wherever the Need's Arumugaum and I stop at Marudor Middle School so I can see our newly installed toilet block there. We walk into the schoolyard - sandy earth with ...
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The Summer of Love
Win a £500 donation this summer through Virgin Money Giving. This summer, Virgin Money Giving are spreading the love by giving away £2,000 in donations to help you raise more for ...
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Spotlight on our work – Kumudimoolai, India
450 more people now with ecosan, thanks to support from the ACT Foundation Thanks to support from the ACT Foundation, the people of Kumudimmolai now have 90 more ecosan, clean water ...
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Ripples London to Paris cycle challenge
Ripples rides for toilets Bathroom retailer Ripples have been dedicated supporters of Wherever the Need for several years now, having already raised £10,000 for eco-toilets, clean water and a livelihood programme ...
