IRIN: Papua New Guinea battles open defecation
“…Government figures indicate that up to 18 percent of [Papua New Guinea’s] rural population and five percent of the urban population have no access to a hygienic toilet. Others, like Lilian Siwi, head of health in Eastern Highlands Province, estimate the real gap is much wider. … Whatever the actual figure, the health implications are undeniable. International health experts say the safe disposal of excreta and hygienic behavior play a key role in mitigating the risk of diarrhea and other diseases, including cholera, dysentery, hepatitis, typhoid, polio, trachoma and respiratory infections, as well as intestinal parasites like giardia, and worms…” (2/10).