page_title: Pit latrine
section_title: Maintenance
hierarchical_section_title: Pit latrine / Maintenance
caption_attribution_description: English: Faecal sludge that has been manually removed from pits is dumped into the local river at the Korogocho slum in Nairobi, Kenya.
context_page_description: A pit latrine, also known as pit toilet, is a type of toilet that collects human feces in a hole in the ground. Urine and feces enter the pit through a drop hole in the floor, which might be connected to a toilet seat or squatting pan for user comfort. Pit latrines can be built to function without water or they can have a water seal. When properly built and maintained, pit latrines can decrease the spread of disease by reducing the amount of human feces in the environment from open defecation. This decreases the transfer of pathogens between feces and food by flies. These pathogens are major causes of infectious diarrhea and intestinal worm infections. Infectious diarrhea resulted in about 700,000 deaths in children under five years old in 2011 and 250 million lost school days. Pit latrines are a low-cost method of separating feces from people.
  A pit latrine generally consists of three major parts: a hole in the ground, a concrete slab or floor with a small hole, and a shelter. The shelter is also called an outhouse. The pit is typically at least three meters deep and one meter across. The hole in the slab should not be larger than 25 centimeters to prevent children falling in.
context_section_description: The requirements for safe pit emptying and fecal sludge management are often forgotten by those building pit latrines, as the pit will only fill up in a few years time. However, in many developing countries safe fecal sludge management practices are lacking and causing public health risks as well as environmental pollution.
caption: Bad practice example: Sanitation workers dump fecal sludge from pits into a river at Korogocho slum near Nairobi, Kenya
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