Sanitation

Sanitation refers to public health conditions related to clean drinking water and treatment and disposal of human excreta and sewage.

Sanitation systems aim to protect human health by providing a clean environment that will stop the transmission of disease, especially through the fecal–oral route.

[3] There are many other diseases which are easily transmitted in communities that have low levels of sanitation, such as ascariasis (a type of intestinal worm infection or helminthiasis), cholera, hepatitis, polio, schistosomiasis, and trachoma, to name just a few.

A sanitation system includes the capture, storage, transport, treatment and disposal or reuse of human excreta and wastewater.

[4] Reuse activities within the sanitation system may focus on the nutrients, water, energy or organic matter contained in excreta and wastewater.

[8] The sanitation ladder defined by the Joint Monitoring Programme in 2016 starts at open defecation and moves upwards using the terms "unimproved", "limited", "basic", with the highest level being "safely managed".

It therefore includes both the 'hardware' (e.g. latrines and sewers) and the 'software' (regulation, hygiene promotion) needed to reduce faecal-oral disease transmission.

The term environmental sanitation is used to cover the wider concept of controlling all the factors in the physical environment which may have deleterious impacts on human health and well-being.

In developing countries, it normally includes drainage, solid waste management, and vector control, in addition to the activities covered by the definition of sanitation.

[citation needed] The Human Right to Water and Sanitation was recognized by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly in 2010.

[20] This aspect is visualised with the F-diagram where all major routes of fecal-oral disease transmission begin with the letter F: feces, fingers, flies, fields, fluids, food.

Providing sanitation to people requires attention to the entire system, not just focusing on technical aspects such as the toilet, fecal sludge management or the wastewater treatment plant.

[22] The "sanitation chain" involves the experience of the user, excreta and wastewater collection methods, transporting and treatment of waste, and reuse or disposal.

For example, according to a World Bank study, economic losses due to inadequate sanitation to The Indian economy are equivalent to 6.4% of its GDP.

Availability of toilet at home on the other hand, positively contributes to economic well-being of women as it leads to an increase in literacy and participation in labor force.

[39] NSSS play a vital role in the safe management of fecal sludge, accounting for approximately half of all existing sanitation provisions.

[41] It is measured under the Sustainable Development Goal 6.2, Indicator 6.2.1, as the "Proportion of population using (a) safely managed sanitation services and (b) a hand-washing facility with soap and water".

[45] Disposal of solid waste is most commonly conducted in landfills, but incineration, recycling, composting and conversion to biofuels are also avenues.

Likewise, developed countries typically have requirements for perimeter sealing of the landfill with clay-type soils to minimize migration of leachate that could contaminate groundwater (and hence jeopardize some drinking water supplies).

Recycling and biofuel conversion are the sustainable options that generally have superior lifecycle costs, particularly when total ecological consequences are considered.

[49] In general, to improve cleanability, this equipment is made from Stainless Steel 316L, (an alloy containing small amounts of molybdenum).

It usually involves a participatory approach of engaging people to take responsibility of WASH services and infrastructure including its operation and maintenance.

The three key elements of promoting hygiene are; mutual sharing of information and knowledge, the mobilization of affected communities and the provision of essential material and facilities.

In their analysis they focus on the following four health outcomes: diarrhea, acute respiratory infections, malnutrition, and soil-transmitted Helminthiasis (STHs).

With regards to samples of soil, sewage sludge, biosolids or fecal matter from dry toilets, helminth eggs are a commonly used indicator.

The JMP report for 2015 stated that:[37] In 2011 the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation launched the "Reinvent the Toilet Challenge" to promote safer, more effective ways to treat human waste.

[63][64] A study was carried out in 2018 to compare the lifecycle costs of full sanitation chain systems in developing cities of Africa and Asia.

It found that conventional sewer systems are in most cases the most expensive sanitation options, followed, in order of cost, by sanitation systems comprising septic tanks, ventilated improved pit latrines (VIP), urine diversion dry toilets and pour-flush pit latrines.

[66] Major human settlements could initially develop only where fresh surface water was plentiful, such as near rivers or natural springs.

These systems consisted of stone and wooden drains to collect and remove wastewater from populated areas—see for instance the Cloaca Maxima into the River Tiber in Rome.