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Fiona Callister Global Head of Media, WaterAid
One in three people around the world have no access to a working toilet. But access to sanitation and clean water is essential to women’s health, education and opportunities, says Fiona Callister, global head of media at WaterAid.
In India, a 26-year-old software engineer has begun collecting testimonies about girls’ first experiences with menstruation in an attempt to bust some of the most pernicious myths about periods.
In the wake of the floods that hit Mumbai last week, women in the city’s slums are working to restore their homes and care for family members without access to basic sanitation or clean drinking water.
Nepal has banned the practice of banishing menstruating women and girls to sheds. Activists have welcomed the new law, but say there is more work to be done to change people’s minds about the tradition, which has led to a number of deaths in recent years.
In Assam, northeast India, annual flooding can be disastrous for women and girls. Women lose access to adequate sanitation and maternal healthcare, while girls are forced into child labor or marriage to make ends meet.
A major study on maternal health released by Lancet aims to help the U.N. achieve its development goals. Report co-author and expert in obstetric epidemiology Wendy Graham says change in maternal mortality will only come when we approach the problem at a local level.
When children lack basic hygiene education, they become vulnerable to potentially deadly but easily preventable diseases. With her organization Sundara, Erin Zaikis has found a way to cut illness rates and create jobs with a simple bar of soap.
Jessica Archibold Maxwell Program Officer, International Nonprofit WaterAid in Nicaragua
In Nicaragua, where over 2 million people have no access to adequate sanitation, improving girls’ education means giving them somewhere to take care of their basic daily hygiene needs, says Jessica Archibold Maxwell, program officer for WaterAid.
Menstruation has serious physical and psychological consequences, particularly for girls and women in low-resource settings. But squeamishness around the issue means potential solutions are being overlooked.
Lack of access to clean water and sanitation facilities affects women and girls most. Jennifer Schorsch, president of Water.org, explains how it is women who step up to solve the problem themselves.
Without access to safe toilets, finding places to go at night puts women and girls at risk in regards to their health and personal safety. But building lavatories is expensive and unfeasible in areas without water or sewage systems. Is there a sustainable alternative?
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