Missing Latrines in Haiti

From a distance, it's hard to comprehend the challenges of securing sanitation for those made homeless after last month's earthquake in Haiti. But one vivid account from the Associated Press offers a narrow window into what relief workers are up against.

Just across the street from the gutted National Palace, a camp of some 2,000 earthquake survivors has access to a lone portable toilet. Most are compelled to use the gutter that runs nearby, squatting beside vendors cooking food and women bathing their children.

And they might be the lucky ones. While the UN has started to dig latrines for 20,000 people, that's less than 3% of the 700,000 people officials estimate are currently living in camps. More permanent resettlement camps are in the works, at least some of which will be equipped with plumbing and sewage. But in the meantime, doctors are bracing themselves for a sanitation crisis they fear could provoke a further onslaught of malaria, cholera and other diseases.

Already, some hospitals report that fully half of the children they're treating have malaria, even though the rainy season (when the mosquito population peaks) doesn't begin for several months. The Haiti clinical director for Partners in Health, Dr. Louise Ivers, says she's worried about a "mass outbreak of measles, which would really be potentially devastating for a camp where there are 10,000 people living."

Currently, only 292 latrines have been constructed, or are under construction. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that some 7,000 latrines are needed.

What could those latrines look like? Jason Turgeon, over at Haiti Rewired, shares a run-down of the different kinds out there that could work, from pit latrines to anaerobic digesters. He concludes that for much of Haiti, composting toilets might be the best solution. They're easy to construct, comparatively odorless, and don't require water -- virtually all you need is a 5-gallon bucket. Over a year's time, following composting, the waste's volume shrinks by as much as 90%, becoming a valuable fertilizer that can be used in agriculture -- a much-needed commodity in a country with ravaged topsoil.

In fact, some of the technology's best ambassadors are already in Haiti: Sarah Brownell and Sasha Kramer, two Americans who've been on a mission to help with in-country sanitation efforts through the Haiti-based nonprofit they formed in 2006, SOIL. They're both eloquent conveyors of the belief that addressing Haiti's sanitation issues can mean a path toward greater agricultural sustainability, as well. It's inspiring stuff, and deserving of a second look. Check them out, in a quick-hit video documentary with Nicholas Kristof, here.

Photo Credit: sustainable sanitation