Response to Ana-Lin's "Africa Water Sanitation: Cholera Disease of the Poor"

I want to reopen the dialogue about diarrhea I began in my most post about child mortality caused by diarrhea. I just read the blog entry Cholera Disease of the Poor, by my classmate, Ana-Lin, and I want to explore a point she raised.

Her point that challenged the expectation of individual responsibility for sanitation really caught my attention. She says neighboring countries have a great responsibility towards each other in caring for sanitation. This is substantiated by using Ghana as an example, where cholera rates are highest on the coast, where most trade that affects other African countries occurs, and in the north, near the border with Burkina Faso.

I had originally framed the problem of sanitation within a local context: it is the responsibility of residents of Kibera, residents of Nairobi, and residents of Kenya at large to care for their sanitation and put a premium on education and prevention. But as she points out, the water borne diseases that cause diarrhea, like cholera, travel through trans-boundary water sources and points of contact for trade. She is right to claim sanitation needs to be an international effort. Together these ideas encourage a model of engaging internationally and acting locally.


Map of Ghana and neighboring countries: GoogleMaps