Recently, the Portable Sanitation Association International Board of Directors decided to do something new. Reaching beyond the immediate focus of helping its members succeed in their portable sanitation businesses, the board declared that Aug. 15 has been named World Portable Sanitation Day (WPSD).
With this announcement, the PSAI makes clear that its mission is broad enough to think beyond the borders of developed nations and the most common uses for portable sanitation. WPSD is a campaign to raise awareness and promote change by engaging people to increase access to sustainable sanitation solutions, thus improving global public health and everyone’s quality of life.
You may wonder why the PSAI’s leaders felt the need to take this step. We did it because the facts are daunting, and we can help. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 2.6 billion people globally – about a third of the world’s population – lack access to adequate sanitation. In addition, about 200 million people per year are victims of disasters during which access to existing sanitation is impaired.
The PSAI wants to take part in a collaborative solution to these issues – and there is a considerable upside to making a positive impact. The United Nations estimates addressing sanitation problems could save as many as 1.5 million children per year from painful diarrheal-related deaths. Every dollar spent improving sanitation produces a 550 percent return on investment, according to the U.N. So getting involved is a “no-brainer” for an organization like the PSAI.
The 2014 inaugural celebration of WPSD is intended to kick off an ongoing campaign to raise awareness and promote change by engaging people all over the world in expanding access to sustainable sanitation. Over time, it is the goal of WPSD to transform its interest and ingenuity into local solutions that prevent the spread of disease, save water and improve the quality of life.
PSAI members are local experts – and they realize that most people in developed countries don’t fully understand what it means to not have adequate sanitation. The WPSD initiative will help them educate communities about the situation in a way that makes it personal to them. For example, women and girls in developing countries are imperiled as they try to find a place to relieve themselves and deal with feminine hygiene issues. In fact, about 23 percent of girls stop attending school in India due to lack of sanitation during menstruation, according to news accounts. Getting people to think about it in these terms – and finding ways to help – is one of the ways WPSD will advance its purpose.
PSAI company members will be celebrating WPSD with a series of activities to be announced in each local market. They will engage nonprofit stakeholders and the media in helping to educate their communities and to better understand how options such as portable sanitation – estimated to save 125 million gallons of fresh water daily – can be part of a sustainable global sanitation solution. Watch the PSAI website, www.psai.org, for additional information.
