Monday, November 16, 2015

Most Humans Have Mobile Phones, But Not Toilets.


It's hard to believe that in 2015, the vast majority of humanity still doesn't have access to clean running water, along with something you and I probably take for granted multiple times a day -- the toilet. The World Health Organization recently released a study indicating that India and China are the chief offenders of poor sanitation. Between the two nations, over 1.4 Billion people still dispose of their waste the old fashion way -- on the ground, behind trees, in shallow holes, in rivers or in a bucket.

When you take into account the rest of the world, over 4.2 Billion humans fail to have even a rudimentary sewage system and toilet.

These people have no throne to sit on in peace and flip through social media or play the latest iteration of Angry Birds. You may laugh, but there's another alarming statistic that this connects to. Of the world's population, more than 6 Billion people own or have access to a mobile phone.

Tell me how that makes sense!

There are more cell phones than toilets on this planet. Once you wrap your head around that statement, consider that the lack of sanitation in under-developed and impoverished nations causes a broad range of illnesses, chiefly diarrhea. Sure, you or I can get diarrhea and be just fine. Yet, when you're a starving person in a third world hell hole, diarrhea is practically a death sentence.

While I feel like we should be willing to assist people in impoverished nations with improving their sanitation, I can't help but point the finger and call out the hypocrisy. These people can't afford to build a municipal sewer system, but they can afford to install high-tech cell towers and purchase mobile phones? Give me a frickin' break.

Priorities people... priorities. There's no point in owning a cell phone if you don't have a toilet to use it on.


More information on the global sanitation crisis can be found here:

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