Shortcomings of African Sanitation

Of the many problems plaguing modern Africa, perhaps the most impactful one is its lack of a comprehensive healthcare system and the widespread prevalence of disease. Preventable diseases cause a significant portion of deaths in Africa, an issue resulting from the stark lack of healthcare funding and infrastructure. It is thus necessary to examine the shortcomings of African healthcare to better comprehend methods by which deaths by preventable health issues may be minimized in the future. Of the many factors that contribute to an inefficient African healthcare system, one of the more prevalent ones is the widespread lack of sanitary measures.

While this may be untrue for more developed regions of Africa, it seems to be the case that rural areas of Africa lack access to modern sanitary products such as soap or other antibacterial treatments. In the rural parts of Africa, it was seen that locals did not have access to a reliable method of sterilizing surfaces or skin tissue. It thus stands to reason that a not insignificant portion of infection and sepsis cases stem from this lack of an ability to sterilize wounds or to reliably clean every day. While it certainly may be the case that as rural regions develop economically these commercial cleansing products become more widespread and available, for the time being the most apparent and quickest method to amend this shortage is through government sponsored aid or through donations by NGOs

A secondary issue regarding the lack of sanitary measures involves the lack of a comprehensive sewage/water treatment center. Rural parts of Africa often lack a centralized system of pipes that transport clean running water to civilians. As such, the majority of cleansing via water is done through treated still water, as opposed to clean treated running water. Water is collected, then boiled before use for hand washing or showering. Even despite this previous treatment, still water is much more susceptible to carry diseases and unwanted toxins in comparison to running water that has been previously sterilized at an industrial treatment plant. In addition to a lack of clean running water, rural Africans must also deal with the lack of a government managed sewage system. This lack of a sewage system may result in a buildup of human waste matter, given the general incapability to transfer human fecal matter to a waste management facility. This in turn may increase the prevalence of infectious diseases in the region, as bacteria and other microbes from the human gut build up in the environment and become exposed to humans. Given the large amounts of funding required to build and maintain a centralized wastewater and sewage system, permanent fixes to this issue require the allocation of state funds by local governments.

Ultimately, Africa suffers from a myriad of different sanitation issues, with two of the most prominent being a lack of sanitary products and the lack of sewage infrastructure. In both cases, to reach a more permanent solution requires the efforts of the respective governments and the proper allocation of funding, however, short term solutions include use of donation funds to purchase relevant relief materials and use of work performed by volunteers to create infrastructure and distribute materials.

UN SDG'S Target Infographic: