Lack of toilets is a mindset rather than costs issue

Dar es Salaam. The rains have been pouring across the country rendering some of the basic community infrastructure rather useless and in the process increasing the risk of contracting water borne diseases due to open unsecured toilets even in cities like Dar es Salaam.

In a city that is among the fastest growing in Africa , this poses a major drawback of vast proportions as it juxtaposes the multibillion satellite cities against the sprawling suburbs that are suffocating with waste.

In certain parts of the city, during the rain period, residents without any sense of care decide to empty their cesspool tanks that release waste material into rainwater pools.

This, according to health officials poses a great health risk and more expensive in the event of an outbreak than constructing a simple modern toilet that can sufficiently hold human waste.

Ministry of Health officials say that even the most recent cholera breakout which started in Dar es Salaam was mainly due to such careless behaviour.

According to Dr Khalid Massa, the acting director of preventive services at the ministry of Health, Community Development, Gender, elderly and children, it is more of a behavioral issue that costs the country a lot in medical expenses.

“We have launched a behavioural change and communication strategy that is set to sensitize citizens countrywide on the need to have toilets. We want to impress on the youth that just as having a smart phone is seen as a symbol of modernity, having a quality toilet should be part of that modernity,” says Dr Massa.

He adds: I don’t think it is an issue of costs but instead a mindset problem. We cannot claim modernity of gadgets when our people still suffer from diseases that can easily be prevented by having a quality toilet that costs very little money compared to the gadgets that we own.

Action

The fish market at Magogoni in Dar es Salaam was among the most hit areas and as a result they have been given a 40-day ultimatum to change the outlook of the toilet facilities by the ministry of Local Government.

“One of the things that have more often frustrated me as a regular customer at this market is the fact that the toilets here are just unbearable and it gets worse off during the rainy days yet I am sure the authorities know very well the need for such a facility,” Athumani Hemed a fish monger.

According to him the order by government authorities will relieve them of the suffering that they have been undergoing in the last couple of years.

“What does it take to provide a good toilet given the fact that we are always paying levies here just to provide us with such services?” he queries. But the Magogoni market is not an isolated case in Dar es Salaam markets like the famous ‘Mahakama Ya Ndizi’ in Manzese have been grappling with sanitation for a very long time, therefore posing a great danger to shoppers.

Images of shoppers paddling in muddy waters at the market were some that will last long in the memories with some opportunist using it as an opportunity to make money by washing people’s feet.

Residents of high density suburb of Manzese blame their current plight of not having a proper drainage system to take away the waste which as a result leaves residents with very little options but to empty the waste tanks during the rains. “Not everyone wants to empty their tanks but sometimes you find that the PVC pipes that we use burst due to the heavy rains and since we can’t repair almost immediately the waste ends up spilling on the roads,” says Mwanaida Ismail.

Affordability

But how much does it cost to build a quality toilet? According to the ministry of Health’s guide lines a quality toilet should provide the necessary privacy, with a roof, a door and water to wash hands after use.

Thomas Massawe is a hardware dealer in Buguruni, Dar es Salaam who admits that apart from the structure basic facilities cost between Sh70,000 and Sh400,000 depending on the choices that one makes.

“This should be affordable for every household because I do not see the essence of building a house that costs millions of money and then fail to put up a decent toilet,” says Massawe. This is quite contrary to the common Passport Size toilets that quite rampant in many of Dar es Salaam’s slams which have a tendency of over flowing during rainy seasons, in the process becoming a health hazard.

What is the situation elsewhere?

Statistics show that coverage of improved latrines in Tanzania remains low with many homes and public places lacking proper toilets despite the health and sanitation hazard that the situation poses to the community.

To date, five in 10 Tanzanians continue to use unsanitary latrines - the majority being simple pits that are not easy to keep clean.

Whereas they provide limited privacy, they do not break the chain of transmission of germs that cause several serious illnesses such as diarrhea.

It is also estimated that about 5 million Tanzanians do not use a latrine at all, and practice open defecation which further complicates the entire process. National Bureau of Statistic findings of 2016 put the number at 16 – 19 per cent as those who have access to quality toilets in Tanzania whereas some 15 to 30 per cent use soap to wash their hands after easing themselves.

The ministry of Health’s initiative therefore targets the general public to make them appreciate that for a human being to be complete he needs a quality toilet, as opposed to the mindset that certain things such as cars, houses, smart phones and dressing as part of modernity.