Water and sanitation in Africa.

Last week the Crown season four stormed Netflix with 29 million viewers. Besides the turbulent romance between Prince Charles and Diana, Thatcher's refusal to impose economic sanctions on South Africa's apartheid regime in 1986 was aired. It got me thinking about the severe effects the 60- year apartheid had on the marginalised South African population and the services provided to them.  For instance,  Enqvist and Zierhogel (2019:4) write that "during the oppression, black and mixed race communities were removed to the urban fringe, known as townships which lacked infrastructure and basic amenities" such as wastewater pipes. The removal was linked to sanitation discourses known as the 'sanitation syndrome,' (Swanson 1977)  as racial stereotypes of bad hygiene were said to threaten public health.  What did this cause? The land policy has caused long lasting urban segregation as the townships still exist today with an estimated 500,000 living in informal sett...