#FridayFact: Less time wasted for women in Georgia
Untreated human excrement, animal waste and chemical fertilizer is seeping into land around the Black Sea and entering the water system, causing people – mainly women and children - to fall ill and the environment to be degraded.
The otherwise picturesque towns of Khorga and Chaladidi in Georgia have been facing an environmental and public health crisis as a result. “We always wanted to improve sanitation but had no knowledge of how to do so,” said Marina Tsirvdava, who comes from a farming family there.
In response, the ‘tackling pollution in rural Georgia’ project has been carried out by UN Environment in two Georgian towns in partnership with Women in Europe for a Common Future and others.
Over 270 people were trained on sustainable sanitation and wastewater treatment under the project - over half of whom were women.
Contamination of household water means that women and children are most exposed to infection. The risks are especially high for young children.
In the event of a child falling ill, the burden of care ultimately tends to fall on the mother, confining her to the home and rendering her unable to work or study.
“I have two children and didn't bring them to kindergarten due to bad sanitary conditions. Now I can bring them and I have more time to work in the field,” said Maia Kenkia from Khorga.
Find out more on the status of sanitation and wastewater treatment in the region from pgs.111-113 of the sixth Global Environment Outlook report for the pan-European region, and read more on this specific project in Georgia on p.15 of the Gender Quality and the Environment publication.
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