The hospital in this small southern town of Ali Al Gharbi in Iraq, just ten miles from the border with Iran, was run down. There were no toilets to use because they were always blocked up. USAID offered to fix the 26-year-old hospital which had seen no Iraqi funding in the past decade for maintenance and repairs.

Working with the Coalition Provisional Authority, the aid group hired Iraqi contractors to dig a new septic system, lay pipes and refit the bathrooms with running water and electric lights. Although toilets remained the traditional squat type used in that region of the world, they were rebuilt using flush systems and smooth tile along the basins, floors and walls that are easy to keep clean.