Valerie Curtis obituary
The only person - probably - ever to give a speech at the United Nations featuring a plastic poo, Valerie Curtis, who has died aged 62 of cancer, was one of the world's first disgustologists" and was dubbed by her fans the Queen of Hygiene". A behavioural scientist, she devoted her career to researching and championing hygiene, sanitation and behaviour change.
Val began her career as an architect at Arup Associates, working on the new British Library, before her desire to make a greater difference drove her to take up posts with international NGOs such as Oxfam. She worked in Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda throughout the 1980s, often in conditions of famine and civil war, installing water pumps in remote communities. It was there that she developed her interest in behaviour.
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