One million Peepoos to the Philippines
November 18, 2013
The Typhoon Haiyan hit the Philippines on the morning of November 8, devastating vast areas in 36 provinces. With winds of up to 275 km/h, the typhoon is the largest storm ever recorded to make landfall. Current reports estimates that almost 13 million people have been affected and more than 4 million people are displaced without access to essential basic needs such as food, water and sanitation. Without sanitation facilities and clean water, diseases thrive and the threat of epidemics outbreaks, such as cholera, is imminent.
In our work at Peepoople, contributing to humanitarian relief is one of our most important tasks. Peepoople has since last week been running extra production shifts to be able to respond to requests for the Philippines. So far, we have delivered 1 million Peepoos to four international aid organisations, among them the Swedish Red Cross and Action Contre la Faim (ACF). These Peepoos will cover sanitation for 35 000 people for one month, and be used in the affected areas in the Philippines. But the need for hygienic sanitation will remain great for months to come and Peepoople will keep on running extra production shifts in order to have capacity to continue to contribute to the relief efforts in the Philippines.
Peepoople is also sending two field officers to the Philippines to provide training on the Peepoo sanitation system and its implementation in humanitarian response.
The Peepoo toilet is suitable for use in home and shelter, which allows the affected population access to rapid, safe, clean and convenient sanitation at all times, day and night. After use, Peepoo is directly closed with a knot and the dangerous pathogens in the faeces are instantly isolated from the immediate environment. With the self-sanitation technology, combined with its biodegradability, Peepoo makes it safe to dispose of human waste without contaminating waterways and the larger environment. Please read more about how you can engage in Peepoople’s emergency response here.
Contact persons for Peepoople in the Philippines:
Åsa Angelino, asa.angelino@peepoople.com, +46-73-335 84 68
Hamid Parsa, hamid.parsa@peepoople.com, +46-73-546 59 31
