Africa Water, Sanitation & Hygiene Nov - Dec Vol. 9 No.6 | Page 25

Sanitation

are also more vulnerable to accidents, natural disasters
and conflict situations, which can cause impairments.
On the other hand, disabled people are more likely to be
poor. Isolation and discrimination, and the lack of access
to health services, education or employment are factors
which reduce opportunities to perform incomegenerating activities.
While the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
do not explicitly mention disability or equity, each goal
has links to disability and poverty. The MDGs cannot be
fully achieved without considering these issues. To emphasise this, the 64th UN General Assembly adopted a
resolution in 2009 on realising the MDGs for persons
with disabilities 2.

Stairs or steps to access sanitation facilities; for example some toilet structures are raised to prevent
flooding or to provide better access to faeces vaults.
Narrow toilet cubicles or narrow entrances.
Toilet cubicles are dark with no natural light, missing
lights or inaccessible light switches.
Doors are too heavy or cannot be closed by a wheelchair user.
Handles and handrails inside are either non-existent,
too high or too low.
Floors are uneven or slippery.
Inaccessible water sources for toilet flushing in the
case of pour-flush toilets, and for showering, bathing
and hand washing.

The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities (2006) is the first human rights instrument
to deal explicitly and systematically with the human rights
of persons with disabilities 3. It has already been ratified
by over 100 countries. The convention not only stipulates that persons with disabilities are to be enabled to
live independently and participate fully in all aspects of
life but defines accessibility to public facilities, services
and information as a human right (Article 9). In addition,
Article 28 highlights the right to clean water services as
part of an adequate standard of living.
Furthermore, the convention addresses global cooperation to ‘ensure that international cooperation, including
international development programmes, is inclusive of
and accessible to persons with disabilities’ (Article 32).
Access to water and sanitation is a human right: the
Human Rights Council adopted a resolution in late 2010
affirming that access to safe drinking water and sanitation
is a human right for all people, including those with disabilities 4.
What stops people with disabilities from accessing sanitation facilities?
Barriers to accessing sanitation facilities extend far beyond physical infrastructure and include also institutional
or organisational factors, human behaviour and social
attitudes. Social attitudes vary according to the cultural
context and a person’s type of impairment. Some examples of barriers are given below.
Physical infrastructure barriers:
Family has no toilet, nearest toilet is far away, open
defecation is widespread.

2

http://www.un.org/disabilities/default.asp?id=36

3

http://www.un.org/disabil