The Sanitation Technology Demonstration Centre - South Africa’s first
South Africa and neighbouring countries will benefit from the newly launched Sanitation Technology Demonstration Centre located at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) Built Environment and Innovation Site in Pretoria. The Centre was officially opened to the public on 27 May 2011. The aim of the centre is to provide practical and visual information on various sanitation technologies that support sustainable human settlements. The demonstration centre is a one-stop site for full-scale examples of some sanitation technologies and superstructures.
Inappropriate solutions or lack of sanitation coincide with high prevalence of diarrheal and related diseases, often linked to large-scale epidemics and deaths of children under the age of 5 (estimated at about 2 million children per annum globally). This is often as a result of poor planning and the lack of an integrated approach to sanitation and health management. Policy makers, planners and implementers should consider a holistic approach to sanitation in order to address the health and hygiene, environment, technology choice, operation and maintenance, financial and economic issues and socio-cultural and institutional aspects.
“Recent documents estimate that between 1 and 2 billion people globally (estimate depend on the definition of what is appropriate sanitation solution) do not have the appropriate access to sanitation” says Dr Rivka Kfir, Water Research Commission (WRC) Chief Executive Officer during the launch. ”Some local statistics, according to the Statistics South Africa Community Survey, published in 2008, indicated that nationally, in total 73% of the population had access to some form of sanitation”. “South Africa, compared to other countries in the Sub-Saharan Africa region, has achieved relatively great progress for drinking water, but still lags behind on sanitation compared to the developed countries. South Africa will probably not meet the goals set for sanitation because of poor technology choices” adds Dr Kfir.
The Sanitation Centre responds to the real challenges faced by municipalities in South Africa. Mr Jay Bhagwan, Director: Water Use and Waste Management at WRC says: “Municipal officials and communities when faced with technology choices do not have the full range of physical models on display, and decisions are made on pictures and diagrams. When delivery takes place at community level, there are often poor or non-existent education and awareness campaigns on the technology targeted at the users. This leads to poor use and management of the sanitation systems, thus leading to operational and sustainability problems”.
In South Africa a vast majority of people have realised the need to have dignified sanitation structures. Just recently, a huge political debate erupted due to unclosed toilet structures in the City of Cape Town and Viljoenskroon in Moqhaka Municipality. This demonstrates the importance of sanitation, not only as a health issue, but as a human rights issue. Therefore, it becomes important for municipalities to understand the needs of their communities and ensure that the proposed sanitation technologies fit the local conditions.
One of the factors that contribute to Africa lagging behind is lack of knowledge and awareness on appropriate technologies. This is exacerbated by the fact that there is a wide range of sanitation products on the market and often decision makers lack the technical skills to assess and evaluate products that will be suitable to their geographic conditions and socio-economic factors.
Louiza Duncker, principal researcher at the CSIR Built Environment Unit and the project leader for the Sanitation Technology Demonstration Centre, says: “People visiting the centre will get first-hand information on existing and some new sanitation technologies. This will create a better understanding and appreciation of different and alternative technologies. The targeted audience for the centre includes the general public, learners, communities, government officials, municipal councillors, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), technical professionals and the private sector”.
With this sanitation centre in place, visitors will have the opportunity to view full-scale examples of sanitation products and technologies and acquaint themselves with various sanitation systems available in South Africa. Besides the displayed technologies, information sheets and supporting documentation has also been provided, making the centre information-rich.
The centre will assist a variety of stakeholders, including government officials, politicians at local level, provincial and national levels, schools, universities, engineering consultants, developers, non- governmental organisations, community-based organisations and members of the public. Stakeholders wishing to learn more about sanitation technology options can visit the centre.
Contact: Jay Bhagwan - Director Water Use and Waste Management
jayb@wrc.org.za