World Toilet Day (WTD) is an annual celebration on November 19th.
It was created in 2001 by the World Toilet Organization to inspire action to tackle global sanitation crisis. The UN General Assembly declared World Toilet Day an official UN day in 2013.
Why a world toilet day?
The figures on sanitation and its consequences on health and the environment are alarming.
- Around 60% of the global population – 4.5 billion people – either have no toilet at home or one that doesn’t safely manage excreta.
- 892 million people worldwide still practise open defecation – this means human faeces, on a massive scale, is not being captured or treated.
- 8 billion people use an unimproved source of drinking water with no protection against contamination from faeces.
- Globally, 80% of the wastewater generated by society flows back into the ecosystem without being treated or reused.
- 1/3 of schools worldwide do not provide any toilet facilities – a particular/ problem for girls during menstruation.
- 900 million schoolchildren across the world have no handwashing facilities – a critical barrier in the spread of deadly diseases.
- Globally, 80% of the wastewater generated by society flows back into the ecosystem without being treated or reused.
What is the aim of World Toilet Day?
World Toilet Day aims at raising awareness public awareness and inspiring action to tackle worldwide sanitation. Sanitation is one of the Sustainable Development Goals launched in 2015 to ensure worldwide access to toilets by 2030.
Each year, awareness campaigns on sanitation are carried out under a specific theme. In 2018, the World Toilet Day is about nature.
Thus, “When Nature Calls” is part of the idea that “we are transforming our environment into an open sewer. We need more nature-based solutions to address the global sanitation crisis. ”
References: