Sanitation

Common transmission pathways of fecal-oral pathogens are from faeces via fluids, fields, flies, and fingers to foods and thereby to the new host (generally illustrated in the so-called “F-diagram”). Sanitation, which ensures a safe disposal of faeces, and other hygiene interventions which prevent the primary routes of transmission from fingers and fluids to another host are primary barriers. Secondary barriers are hygiene practices that stop transmission paths of fecal pathogens that have already got into the environment.

According to the WHO-UNICEF JMP program, improved sanitation is defined as “any facility which hygienically separates human waste for human contact”. While the JMP has a specific list of different types of latrines to categorize them as ‘improved’ or ‘unimproved’, it can generally be said that latrines that do not have a recipient to contain faeces, public/shared facilities and open defecation are unimproved facilities. The JMP estimates that in 2010 63% of the world population was using improved sanitation facilities, leaving behind 2.5 billion people without access to adequate sanitation facilities.