From the Global Dry toilet club of Finland:
According to various estimations there are approximately 2,6 – 3 billion people living without proper sanitation. These people have to decide on daily bases how to organize defecation without feeling ashamed, feel of fear or direct health problems due to lack of sanitation. Some relieve themselves during the night time while others hide in the bushes for defecation. Some people even defecate into plastic bags and then throw the bags as far
as they can (this Flying Toilet example is from a slum district in Kenya). Providing that people are not accessible to proper toilets, they need to rely on solutions that are neither good for them or the communities they live in or for the environment. Due to inadequate water supply, sewerage systems and lack of sanitation millions of people face death annually. Over 2 million people die annually only to diarrhoea, wherefrom most are under the age of five. Every day approximately 6000 children die to diarrhoea related diseases. According to some estimates two thirds of the costs of medical treatment are used to nurse diarrhoea related diseases.
At the same time 300 million people in developed countries are using the same amount of water what many people in developing countries are entitled for a whole day by simply flushing once. In a developed country the biggest problems concerning toilet usage often derive from a broken light bulb to furnishing problems. Accord- ing to WHO and UNICEF safeguarding access to clean water and sanitation to all people would cost approxi- mately 9 billion USD annually from the year 2005 to 2015(including only building costs). If you compare this cost to the cost of global armament (780 billion USD annually), to the cost of alcohol and cigarette consump- tion in Europe (155 billion USD annually) or even to the cost of ice-cream consumption in Europe (11 billion USD) it can be considered as a rather small cost.
World’s sanitation problems can not be solved by building water latrines and sewerage systems. The building and maintenance costs are too high and furthermore this infrastructure can not ensure clean environment. In a case of inadequate wastewater treatment even more severe health and environmental risks than the use of bushes for defecation purposes can be created. Therefore it is necessary to develop cheap, technically simple and safe sanitation alternatives, which can be adjusted to meet the needs of different cultures and environ- ments. It is also necessary to increase sanitation and hygiene education for understanding of the connections to human and environment health.
Clivus Multrum has been around since the 70’s.
see below:
http://www.clivusmultrum.com.au/
Studio Make-do 