As the world marked the Toilet Day recently, US philanthropist Bill Gates unveiled toilet that transforms waste into fertiliser.
The futuristic toilet is expected to revolutionise the lives of some of the poorest people on earth.
No water, sewers
The toilet does not need water or sewers and uses chemicals to turn faecal matter to fertiliser.
It was made public early this month at the Reinvented Toilet Expo in Beijing, China, a forum hosted by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to promote technology in sanitation.
The world is racing to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal Six. The goal calls for availability and sustainable management of sanitation and water for all by 2030.
This year’s campaign narrative is When nature calls, we Need a toilet. But, billions of people do not have one.
According to the World Health Organisation, more than 4.5 billion live without a safe toilet while 892 million practise open defecation.
At least 10 per cent of the world’s population is thought to consume food irrigated by waste water.
Poor sanitation is linked to the transmission of cholera, dysentery, hepatitis A, typhoid polio and other diseases.
Inadequate sanitation is estimated to cause 280,000 diarrhoeal deaths every year and is a major factor in neglected tropical diseases, including intestinal worms, schistosomiasis, and trachoma.
The toilet, which is ready for sale after years of research, is the brainchild of projects funded by the foundation, the world’s biggest private philanthropy organisation.
