sanitation

Sanitation generally refers to the provision of facilities and services for the safe disposal of human urine, faeces, garbage, and wastewater. For Binti Africa, Sanitation also means availability of materials for body care, and hygiene for girls and women during menstruation.

Inadequate sanitation is a major cause of disease world-wide and improving sanitation is known to have a significant beneficial impact on health both in households and across communities.

Rural communities have challenges in dealing with sanitation. Pit latrines are inadequate and unavailable in some communities. Their construction is ill advised in most cases and the water table is contaminated in the course of their construction. Garbage disposal is increasingly becoming a challenge and polythene bags can be seen lying all over the countryside.

Majority of women and girls in rural areas cannot afford sanitary pads to contain their flow during menstruation. Lack of sanitary pads compromises menstrual hygiene, and affects the general confidence and psyche of women during menses.

We run a sanitation programme that deals with construction of toilets in rural schools, assisting in availing water to rural communities, and making affordable sanitary pads for use by women and girls who cannot afford conventional sanitary pads