WaterAid launches sanitation animation

A still from WaterAid's new animated film Ten steps to total sanitation. Watch now

Credit: WaterAid

18 June 2008

Watch Ten steps to total sanitation now!

WaterAid has launched a stunning animated film illustrating how our partners are helping communities in Bangladesh to reverse poor sanitation practices.

Using still photography and the latest "2.5D" animation technique, Ten steps to total sanitation dramatically illustrates how improvements can be made at the rural community or small town level.

The animation is set in rural Bangladesh and is already proving to be a useful tool for raising awareness and inspiring local partners working in the field. So far it's been viewed by people as far a field as New Zealand, Senegal and Tanzania, and we've already received requests for it to be screened at conferences and in classrooms.

In 2008, the UN International Year of Sanitation, it's appropriate that the film highlights the problems caused by open defecation. Importantly though, it also offers ten basic steps that communities can take to achieve 'open defecation free status', leading to a reduction in disease. In doing so, it attempts to simplify a quite complex subject, using photography from real life WaterAid projects.

Jerry Adams, Head of the Programme Support Unit for WaterAid, says the animation is "a really exciting tool that effectively illustrates the key steps to helping a community become an open defecation free zone." He hopes it will inspire many more towns and villages to adopt similar principles and help fight one of the biggest killers in the developing world: poor sanitation.

If you, your fundraising, community or campaign group would like to screen the film at an event, or perhaps in a classroom, you can download this film to your computer.

The film is available to watch on YouTube.

We'd also love to hear any feedback you have on the animation.

For more information please contact Nick Edmands.

Watch Ten steps to total sanitation now