JLVernonPhD presents "American SciCo"

“Poop is Funny, but Fatal”

When Bora Zivkovic ( @BoraZ ) made a call for blog posts about excrement, my initial thought was, “Who wants to read about feces?”  Needless to say, I decided against joining the poop party.  However, after seeing his “Carnal Carnival” I realized not only that the conversation could be entertaining, but also dignified.  So, I began to search for some way to contribute to the dialogue in a way that is consistent with the content of my blog.  Liz and Celeste at The Pump Handle brought to my attention the issue of sanitation. 
In America, we take sanitation for granted, but 1.5 million people each year die from diarrheal diseases that are spread via the feces of infected people.  Sanitation and hygiene can prevent the spread of these diseases.  Unfortunately, according to the Millennium Development Group, in 2008, only 61% of the world’s population were using improved sanitation facilities.
While NGO’s and government agencies are working to improve these conditions, communication among the citizens of the under-served communities is needed most.  As Liz and Celeste point out, simply building the facilities is not sufficient to change problematic behaviors such as open defecation.  Instead, the people must be educated on the dangers of unsanitary practices. Even then, it is not only important to lecture the adults within the community; it is especially important to reach the children who will implement the lessons learned and actively disrupt the perilous behavior of open defecation. 
I found the video above which was produced by UNICEF and emphasizes the need to get more comfortable with conversations about defecation.  We must speak more freely about feces in order to overcome problems of poor sanitation.  Again, in this video, children are seen as the vessels of change.  By engaging the children, we can encourage them to become part of the solution.