The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has announced that it is shifting its emphasis in water and sanitation efforts to push for a radical re-invention of the toilet.

The Gates Foundation on Tuesday formally announced its new strategy at a sanitation conference in Kigali, Rwanda (though the gist of the toilet re-invention project was leaked a week ago by Germany’s Die Welt).

Sylvia Mathews Burwell, head of development for the Gates Foundation, made the announcement of $42 million in new grants devoted to the cause of water and sanitation in a speech at a meeting organized by the African Ministers’ Council on Water.

Mathews Burwell said their focus is on the toilet because it is a 200-year-old technology that helped spark a revolution in public health and hygiene, but now needs updating:

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