Many people in the Pacific lack access to adequate toilets, and climate change is making the situation worse

Pacific Islands often evoke images of picturesque landscapes and vast coastlines. But while this part of the world may seem like paradise, many residents face a serious public health problem.

In Pacific countries, nearly half a million people live in informal urban areas without adequate sanitation facilities, which can mean difficult access to functional toilets.

This affects health, well-being, education and livelihoods, particularly for women, children, the elderly and people with disabilities.

Our new study, published in the journal npj Clean waterexamined the state of sanitation in several informal urban settlements in two Pacific countries, Fiji and Vanuatu. Our findings show that this is a problem that requires urgent attention.

Field research

Working with researchers from the University of the South Pacific, we conducted a household survey and inspected sanitation infrastructure. Our team surveyed 393 households in nine informal urban settlements in the capital cities of Fiji (Suva) and Vanuatu (Port Vila).

These settlements develop when people move onto vacant land that has not been designated for habitation, usually due to a lack of affordable housing. Informal urban settlements often lack access to essential services and infrastructure such as sewerage, electricity, paved roads and garbage collection.

We found that even if running water is available, most households (56% to 100% of households in each locality) still rely on unsafe sanitation facilities to manage human waste. Many use poorly constructed dry pits (e.g. a pedestal over a hole in the ground) or septic tanks. In these toilets, there is no plumbing and running water is not used to flush the toilet. All are on-site (in or next to the house), meaning that waste, whether treated or not, remains in the locality.

In addition to the daily challenges, we found that one in three households lose access to a functional toilet during heavy rains, cyclones or floods. Dry pit systems face four to eight times higher risks of damage during climate events than water-based systems in the same areas.

We also found that the safe management of waste, particularly from septic tanks and septic tanks, poses significant challenges for residents. Even when toilets are available and functioning well, there is often no safe and sustainable way to manage the waste that accumulates in pits and tanks.

In many cases, sludge is dumped into open areas of settlements, into local rivers or seeps into the ground. This can pollute water sources and create serious risks to the environment and public health.

Additionally, we have seen that cyclones and heavy rains damage sanitation systems, causing garbage overflows and contaminating water supplies.

Vulnerable communities

Melanesian countries, including Vanuatu and Fiji, are particularly exposed to severe climate risks. It is therefore essential that sanitation infrastructure in informal urban settlements can withstand these environmental threats.

Poor sanitation in these areas promotes the spread of diseases such as diarrhoea, intestinal worms and trachoma. Studies show that improving water and sanitation systems significantly reduces the risk of child deaths and deaths from diarrhoea in particular.

According to estimates by the World Health Organization and UNICEF, less than 3% of urban populations in Fiji and Vanuatu use unimproved or unsafe sanitation facilities – sanitation facilities that fail to safely contain, treat and dispose of human waste.

This figure contrasts sharply with our findings, which show that most households living in informal urban settlements rely on unsafe sanitation systems. This highlights the need for improved monitoring strategies that distinguish informal settlements from formally planned areas.

How can we solve this problem?

Toilets alone will not solve the problem. Communities must adopt a holistic approach that addresses sanitation management at every stage. This will involve creating a complete service chain that ensures reliable waste removal, treatment and disposal, and is resilient to disasters.

This means strengthening local expertise, supporting local service providers, ensuring systems are well maintained and encouraging community ownership of these systems to ensure long-term sustainability.

In informal settlements, the provision of these services is much more difficult than in formal urban areas, largely due to insecure land tenure and limited access to adequate infrastructure, which adds to the complexity for service providers.

However, given that a significant proportion of the Pacific’s urban populations live in informal settlements, finding effective ways to safely manage sanitation in these communities is essential.

Sustainable Development Goal 6 aims to ensure access to safe drinking water and sanitation for all. Addressing the sanitation crisis in the Pacific Islands means protecting health, restoring dignity, supporting livelihoods and building the resilience of households and communities, who are on the front lines of an increasingly uncertain future.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.