Africa Water, Sanitation & Hygiene December 2018 Vol.13 No.6 | Page 10

NEWS in brief
Bill Gates Launches Reinvented Toilet Expo
BEIJING, November 6, 2018 – The Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation, with the China Council for the Promotion
of International Trade (CCPIT) and the China Chamber
of International Commerce (CCOIC), y joined global
innovators, development banks, private-sector players, and
governments at the Reinvented Toilet Expo in Beijing.
Together, they
committed to
accelerate the
commercialization
and adoption
of disruptive
sanitation
technologies
world-wide
over the next decade. Rapid expansion of new, off-grid
sanitation products and systems could dramatically reduce
the global human and economic toll of unsafe sanitation,
including the deaths of half a million children under the
age of 5 each year and the more than $200 billion that is
lost due to health care costs and decreased income and
productivity.
A range of companies from around the world came
together at the Expo to display a new class of sanitation
solutions that eliminate harmful pathogens and convert
waste into by-products like clean water and fertilizer—all
without connections to sewers or water lines.
Companies from China (Clear, CRRC, EcoSan), the
United States (Sedron Technologies), India (Eram
Scientific, Ankur Scientific, Tide Technocrats), and
Thailand (SCG Chemicals) announced the availability
of the world’s first pathogen-killing reinvented toilets
and small-scale waste treatment plants (called omni-
processors), which are now ready for sale to municipal and
private entities. LIXIL, headquartered in Japan, announced
plans to bring to pilot a household-level reinvented toilet
based on a leading prototype.
Christmas cruises could be ruined because there’s
not enough water
Cruise passengers set to enjoy a river cruise this Christmas
may be disappointed as water levels on popular European
routes are so low holidaymakers could be forced to travel
by bus
Cruise passengers could see their Christmas holidays
ruined as water levels on major river cruise routes drop to
a shocking low. Companies have announced passengers
may have to resort to travelling parts of the cruise by bus.
Tourists heading to Germany, Austria and Hungary are
most likely to be affected as the Danube and Rhine - the
10
Africa Water, Sanitation & Hygiene • December 2018
Global Highlights
rivers most
affected - flow
through these
three countries.
The record low
water levels
come after a hot
summer and a dry autumn - and the situation is unlikely to
improve any time soon..
Water levels are not expected to improve, forcing cruise
lines to put contingency plans into action.
A statement on Viking Cruises website says: “We will
continue to monitor water levels daily and activate plans as
necessary.
“Conditions affecting select itineraries may require that we
notify guests about some of the specific changes on short
notice.
“We always want our guests to feel that they have the
most current information about their journey, so we will
continue to directly contact all guests on itineraries affected
by residual low water conditions until levels return to
normal.”
UK luxury river cruise tour operator Scenic posted: “Parts
of central and northern Europe are currently experiencing
hot and exceptionally dry weather conditions.
Tackling the taboo of menstrual hygiene in the
European Region
Globally, 52% of women and
girls are of reproductive age –
around 1.9 billion people. Yet,
a massive taboo and stigma
still surrounds the topic of
menstruation, and it is often
difficult for girls and women
in many countries and regions
to practice optimal menstrual
hygiene. WHO/Europe has been working with Member
States to better understand the magnitude of the problem
and to support the development of policies to tackle the
inequality surrounding menstrual hygiene management
(MHM). To encourage more supportive environments for
MHM and to help break the taboo, health and education
sectors came together to discuss joint action at the third
expert meeting on water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH)
in schools, held in Bonn on 23–24 October 2018 under the
framework of the Protocol on Water and Health.
Inequality in relation to MHM has many causes,
such as lack of information about menstruation,
unsatisfactory sanitation infrastructure and the fact that
menstrual management supplies are often unavailable
or unaffordable. Participants at the meeting in Bonn