In 2014, South Africa mourned the death of Michael Komape, a 5-year-old child who fell into a pit toilet at his school and drowned. His untimely death sparked national outrage and demands for the government to make school sanitation safer for children. Unfortunately, many schools do not have reliable access to water, and learners are still forced to use unlawful and unsafe pit toilets.
In this conversation, Lerato Mbele speaks to researcher at Equal Education, Elizabeth Biney about the eradication of pit latrines in South African schools.