Know the Facts:
- Every 20 seconds, a child dies as a direct result of poor sanitation.
- More than 2.6 billion people do not have access to any form of sanitation.
- Millions of adults are too sick to work, and their children, ravaged by diarrhea and other diseases, are too sick to attend school
- Women and girls are placed at great risk and humiliation
- The lack of sanitation threatens lives, takes away opportunities, and removes basic human dignity
Around the world, billions of children, women, and men face illness and danger because of limited access to sanitary facilities and poor basic hygiene. ADRA recognizes that sanitation is a fundamental human right, and we are actively creating solutions to save people from an unnecessary death.
The effects of poor sanitation are varied and equally devastating:
- Natural disasters wreak havoc on the land and leave dangerous stagnant pools of water filled with life-threatening diseases
- In many countries without latrines, women and girls are forced to walk long distances to find a sheltered spot, putting them at risk as men follow them and threaten them sexually
- Children do not have access to clean water and sanitation, resulting in too many unnecessary deaths every day
ADRA is committed to bringing sanitation and restoring human dignity to people in these situations. Our work worldwide is changing lives and providing millions with safe, clean, healthy solutions.
In fact, sanitation facilities are one of the first things that ADRA looks at in the wake of a disaster. After the Myanmar cyclone struck, ADRA, with the aid of the villagers, immediately began constructing latrines with pipes running into pits in the ground to contain the waste. These latrines make an incredible difference in people's lives. They mean fewer parasites, fewer germ-carrying insects, and a decrease in the frequency of waterborne diseases. They also restore simple human dignity and modesty.
ADRA is also investing in new and eco-friendly technologies in order to solve basic sanitation problems around the world. A new solution called Biogas Sanitation Technology, works like this: The waste from the latrine is piped into a concrete channel to which animal dung can be added. The gas from this waste is piped back into the home and is actually used to provide a flame for cooking food and producing electricity and heat for the home!
The effects of our work are being felt worldwide:
"Now that ADRA has completed this work, there are no stagnant pools of water, which had been a breeding place for harmful bacteria and mosquitoes. As a result, there are not many mosquitoes around anymore. Now we know how to safely recycle the wastewater to make a great fertilizer that makes my garden produce so well. I can now grow bananas and sell them for good money. I am also happy to see the toilets being constructed. Many thanks to ADRA India for their care for us." - Muthu Devar, a beneficiary of ADRA's sanitation work in India
Success stories like this happen only because of your passion and support of ADRA's work. Please help us provide the tools that will restore this basic human right to individuals who have no other hope of a simple, sanitary waste facility.
