GFA World Joins Battle Against ‘Stinkiest’ Global Health Crisis
May 21, 2021
One in every 11 people worldwide doesn’t have access to a toilet, says new GFA World report
GFA World is installing thousands of toilets in some of the world’s remotest and least developed areas -- places where people typically relieve themselves in the bushes, by the local river, or in the street.
It’s part of a global effort to curb deadly diseases spread by people practicing open defecation, known as OD, says the agency’s new report Taking the Toilet Challenge.
OD spreads cholera, dysentery, hepatitis, typhoid and leads to chronic diarrhea -- killing millions of children worldwide every year.
Up and Running: 32,000 Toilets
So far, GFA World has helped install more than 32,000 toilets in OD-prone locations across Asia.
“For millions around the world, the humble toilet is the best gift they can imagine,” said K.P. Yohannan, founder of the GFA World organization that helps millions across Asia and has just launched projects in Africa.
“”Giving people the most basic necessities of life is one way of sharing God’s love with them.
- K.P. Yohannan
Global Progress
Citing progress, the organization’s report says OD has been cut in half globally in recent years. In South Asia -- home to one quarter of the world’s people -- the number of those practicing OD has dropped sharply from two-thirds of the population to one-third.
But, the report says, about one in every 11 people worldwide still doesn’t have access to a toilet.
The report also spotlights efforts to “reinvent the toilet” -- designing toilets that process human waste without water, sewer or septic systems.
