R

ecently, as I was traveling with my family, my eyes alighted on the congested and cramped condition many slum areas endured. The first thought that struck me was, what were the problems these poor people dealt with and how did they overcome them? Most of us would undoubtedly agree that sanitation as a whole is a major idea, which covers many aspects of cleanliness in a country.

However, inadequate sanitation is a major cause of disease worldwide that affects countries financially as well as economically. But the question here is how many of us actually give a thought about this? Moreover, poor design or inappropriate locations may lead to the migration of waste matter and contamination of local water supplies putting the community at risk.

Jakarta, a city of 10 million people, is dotted with a huge number of slums. The most basic necessity, good sanitation, is actually what these people most lack. Many people live without running water in shanty towns built in the shadow of gleaming skyscrapers, and gutters are clogged with rubbish, causing foul smells.  

In urban slum areas, inadequate sanitation, poor hygiene practices, overcrowding and contaminated water converge to create unhealthy conditions. The associated diseases include cholera, typhoid, hepatitis, typhus, malaria, dengue, chronic respiratory diseases and intestinal infections. Moreover, poorer families who also lack education tend to have poor hygiene practices, which contribute to spreading diseases and increasing the child mortality rate.

Improving sanitation is known to have a significant beneficial impact on health both in households and across communities. In some cases, it would be possible to start with an '€œecological'€ approach to sanitation, which seeks to contain, treat and reuse human waste where possible thus minimizing contamination and making optimum use of resources. To achieve the targets, action must start now. Now is the time to act. Households, communities, local and national governments, civil society and private companies all need to work together.

Mohini Rastogi
Gandhi Memorial International School
Jakarta