Source – Sun Herald, May 9, 2012
Challenge Seeks to Identify Innovative and Novel Methods for Improved Containment and Decontamination of Human Waste in Emergency Situations
WALTHAM, Mass. — InnoCentive, Inc., the pioneer in open innovation and crowdsourcing, and the Humanitarian Innovation Fund (HIF), today announced a Challenge to find easy-to-use, economical, and innovative waste management solutions that will reduce the health risks related to inadequate containment or decontamination of human waste during emergency or disaster response situations. This Challenge is sponsored by the HIF through a partnership between Enhancing Learning and Research for Humanitarian Assistance (ELRHA) and Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance in Humanitarian Action (ALNAP). 
Natural or man-made disasters—including earthquakes, tsunamis, flash floods and volcanic eruptions—typically occur rapidly and without notice, resulting in large numbers of displaced people often gathered at aid sites and in urban areas. This influx can quickly overwhelm existing sanitation infrastructure and create significant difficulties in managing the containment and disposal of human waste. Historically, pit latrines have proven to be an efficient and relatively rapid solution. However, in situations where the ground is not suitable for digging latrines, such as in flooded or urban environments, few other sustainable options exist. Raised latrines, ‘portaloos,’ chemical toilets, and personal waste containers are alternatives, but all of these known solutions have notable drawbacks. Without adequate treatment of human waste in emergency situations, outbreaks of enteric disease become common. In fact, disease outbreaks can cause more fatalities than the primary disaster.
HIF has teamed up with InnoCentive on a new Challenge, Safe Containment or Processing of Human Waste in Emergency Situations, which seeks novel methods for the containment or decontamination of human waste to reduce the health and disease risks endemic in disaster response situations. Ideal solutions will be those that can be implemented by non-specialists using materials and methods that are readily available to developing nations. This Theoretical Challenge is open to all InnoCentive Solvers worldwide through July 3, 2012, requires only that Solvers submit a written proposal and carries a total award payout of $15,000 for winning solution(s). The HIF will work to disseminate winning solution(s) across the humanitarian sector.
The Humanitarian Innovation Fund is delighted to work with InnoCentive to broaden the ideas available for solving some of the longstanding issues in humanitarian aid,” said Ben Ramalingam, chair of the Humanitarian Innovation Fund Strategy Group. “As recent crises like Haiti and Pakistan have shown, we face considerable challenges in sanitation, especially in urban settings. We are very keen to explore the potential for addressing these issues by tapping into InnoCentive’s global network of problem Solvers, and hopefully, this will be the first of many such collaborations.”
The Humanitarian Innovation Fund was established in 2012 to support organizations and individuals working to identify, nurture, and share innovative and scalable solutions to the challenges facing effective humanitarian assistance. This InnoCentive Challenge is a new venture for the HIF and complements the Fund’s two existing funding facilities, which have funded 14 innovation projects to date. This Challenge is also generously supported by Nature Publishing Group, Popular Science, and The Economist, and will be posted to their respective websites so that their communities may engage as well.
“We are very pleased to be collaborating with the Humanitarian Innovation Fund on this Challenge and welcome the support of our partners Nature Publishing Group, Popular Science, and The Economist to extend the reach of the Challenge to millions of additional potential Solvers,” said Dwayne Spradlin, CEO of InnoCentive. “Natural disasters requiring rapid emergency response are all too frequent these days, so we view it as imperative that we bring all of our efforts to bear to help solve a problem that could save thousands or even millions of lives.”
