Tackling the Developing World's Poop Problem

It's easy for Americans to take the wide availability of public restrooms for granted, but open defecation is one of the most pressing public health issues facing the world’s developing cities. The excellent Mammoth recently published a great story looking extensively at the problem, which has social, political, physical, and infrastructural aspects.

Writer Peter Nunns explains that a lack of sewage systems and public toilets are common issues in informal settlements, or slums, where running water and pipes are incredibly rare. Citing World Bank research from 2008, Nunns notes that 46 percent of India’s urban population lacks basic sewage and access to toilets. The result is that residents of informal settlements in cities like Mumbai often leave their feces right in the street. Even in places where there are public toilets, facilities serve far more people than they were intended to, and money to service and clean them is practically nonexistent. Raw sewage running in the streets and into water sources creates a significant health risk. The problem isn’t unknown, but as Nunns writes, there are many reasons it’s not addressed: