I was reading an article about how the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation had awarded prizes for developing toilets to serve people in the third world who don’t have access to good sanitation. I was also reading even sven’s comments about the pervasive culture of corruption in Cameroon where you are forced to play the game. I don’t know how pie-in-the-sky the winning entries were (the Caltech team’s toilet was solar-powered and produced hydrogen and electricity), but given the enormous logistical problems that corruption creates, what are the chances that kids in some of these places will ever see the benefits? Are there any states that are simply poor and totally lack infrastructure but otherwise have good (or at least not corrupt) governance? If not, how well does the stuff that the Foundation promotes pervade these places?
Thanks,
Rob