There is nothing glamorous about sanitation. Talking about fecal sludge can be something of a conversation stopper. The initial response to mentioning World Toilet Day — which is tomorrow — is often a smile.
But lack of sanitation is not funny. It is a major cause of death and disease and a serious, if too often ignored, barrier to development.
Poor sanitation, for example, contributes to over 500,000 child deaths from diarrhea every year. Half of all hospital visits in developing countries are a direct result of inadequate or nonexistent sanitation.