A sideview of the urine diversion pan. The hole on the far right is for urine, the middle for feces and the third for anal washing. Photo: Lien AidPHNOM PENH, 10 July 2009 (IRIN) - A toilet now in the development stage could improve the health of thousands living in Cambodia’s impoverished river communities.
River communities’ homes are typically built on floating platforms and moved seasonally, and rarely have proper latrines. Occupants use the river – the same water they use for drinking, cooking and washing.
The health risks are high: according to Resource Development International–Cambodia, a faith-based NGO, 74 percent of all deaths are due to waterborne diseases, including diarrhoea.
Cambodia has one of the highest infant and under-five mortality rates in the region, at 97 and 141 per 1,000 live births, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reports.
Many rural Cambodians see latrines as filthy, preferring open defecation as being more natural.
“It’s not a poverty issue. Some wealthy people in the countryside don’t have good sanitation, and some poor families do have it,” Chea Samnan, director of rural healthcare for the Ministry of Rural Development, said. “It’s an issue of access to the right information.”
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