Bill Gates funds ground-breaking sanitation research in Durban, but in the communities living under pollution from oil refineries just a short drive away – run by companies in which Gates is invested – asthma and cancer rates are high
It was standing room only in the darkened hall when Cyril Ramaphosa, a former miners’ union leader-turned-mining magnate and South African deputy president, walked to the podium at Durban’s deluxe International Convention Centre. He was to address a “National Sanitation Indaba”, a conference dealing with the outrage that more than one in 10 of South African households still lack adequate sanitation in the 21st century.
“It is a tale of daily humiliation for many of our people,” Ramaphosa told delegates. “The lack of adequate sanitation encourages the transmission of many infectious diseases, including cholera, typhoid, hepatitis, polio, cryptosporidiosis and ascariasis. Diarrhea – a disease directly related to poor sanitation – it is said, kills one child every 20 seconds. This is more than 4,000 children every day worldwide. This amounts to more deaths than Aids, malaria and measles combined. This is a tale of diseases that are easily spread and young lives that are needlessly lost.”
Diarrhea kills more than 4,000 children every day worldwide .. more deaths than Aids, malaria and measles combined
“Bill Gates is throwing money at the symptoms. It’s no good mopping up constantly when you don’t fix the tap.
It would be such a good thing if Bill Gates himself came here to see what has happened to the people.
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