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Zambia just took one big step forward toward becoming an “open-defecation-free” country.
According to the Southern African nation’s government, no one in the country’s Chienge district is relieving themselves in the open, NPR reported. It’s the first district in Zambia to do achieve the status.
The milestone, set last month, marks progress in Zambia’s fight to ensure all of its citizens have access to improved sanitation within the next five years.
Leonard Mukosha, national coordinator of the Total Sanitation program there, told NPR of the difference private toilets have made to Zambians.
“Before, he would go into the bush [to use the bathroom] with fear because he would think of snakes,” he explained of a 12-year-old boy in Chienge. “And during the rainy season, sometimes you go and suddenly it starts raining. Now, [at least], he’s able to go to the toilet [indoors] so there are no surprises there.”
Aside from wildlife and unexpected downpours, open defecation makes for a challenging public health issue in many areas of the developing world.
About 2.5 billion people globally don’t have access to improved sanitation — a reality that disproportionately affects women and girls, as they face the risk of sexual violence while relieving themselves in the open.
In order to avoid the risk of violence, many women choose not to relieve themselves at nighttime and wait until morning, which can lead to urinary tract infections.
