COST EFFECTIVE TOILET HARDWARE
The Safe Toilet (SATO) Nigeria, makers of housing and building materials, on Thursday said that it had begun mass production of an affordable toilet hardware, `SATO PAN’ for low-income earners.
Mr Michael Adegbe, the Group’s Business Development Leader, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja that the product was to encourage low-income earners build and use toilets toward ending open defecation practice.
Adegbe said that the product being sold at N1, 500, would be used in environment with low access to water.
He disclosed that the pan was dedicated to consumers in developing countries without access to modern plumbing infrastructure, adding that it utilised an air-tight trap door to minimise odours.
Adegbe said that the trap door also prevented the transmission of diseases by blocking flying insects.
“Nigeria is number two, following India in top countries practicing open defecation, in Bangladesh, they have left the list, becoming open defecation-free following the introduction of Sato Pans.
“It is a way of modernising pit latrines either directly or indirectly that is outside the house with its septic tank, it helps to promote healthy lives at an affordable price.’’
According to the SATO chief, the toilets will reduce the rate of faecal-oral transmission of diseases, thereby reducing incidences of preventable deaths and diseases, especially among young persons.
He noted that poor sanitation was a leading cause of child mortality, saying that a large number of children still died from diarrheal diseases caused by lack of hygienic water and sanitary conditions.
Adegbe said that these indices led to the formulation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which called for access to water and sanitation a priority in its sixth target.
He said that access to proper sanitation and clean water was vital for the health and safety of growing populations in both urban and rural areas.
“When human faeces are not disposed, it can cause myriads of health problems.’’
Adegbe commended the efforts of some development partners who had shown commitment to sanitation marketing, stressing that its importance at scaling up sanitation and hygiene promotion could not be over-emphasised.
According to the Joint Monitoring Progress Report from the UNICEF and the WHO, no fewer than 23 billion people globally lack access to improved sanitation, with 946 million persons practicing open defecation.
The report said that poor sanitation was linked to transmission of diseases such as cholera, diarrhea, dysentery, hepatitis A, typhoid and polio.
SATO Nigeria is part of the LIXIL Corporation, makers of housing and building materials, products and services.
The products are designed to improve the user experience and safety of open-pit latrines. They are refined yet affordably priced and simple to install.
SATO toilets were first developed by LIXIL’s American Standard Brands with previous support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
More than one million units are presently in use in over 14 countries, starting with Bangladesh and now including the Philippines, India, Uganda, Kenya and Haiti.
