World Toilet Day is celebrated each year on November 19th. World Toilet Day is an event that is celebrated worldwide to increase awareness of the billions of people who do not have access to proper sanitation. This creates hygienic issues as open defecation is the only option for many in various parts of the world.
“This is an urgent problem and we have to create awareness, (so) that the whole world will know about this problem and participate. Because once people hear about it, they’ll get angry and take action.”
-Jack Sim, Founder World Toilet Organization
Facts About Access to Sanitation Worldwide
- 40% of the world’s population does not have access to toilets. That’s over 2.5 BILLION people!
- 15% of the world’s population practices open defecation.
- 1/3 of the world’s population has intestinal worm infections.
- 3 people die every minute as a result of illness and disease that is spread through human waste. This is higher than HIV/AIDS, measles, and malaria combined!
- 365,000 children died in 2013 because of preventable diarrhoeal diseases. These diseases are caused by lack of hygiene, sanitation, and safe water.
- 1 in 3 women are victimized by acts of violence at some point in their life. Being forced to travel to public toilets away from the home creates a moment of vulnerability to many who do not have access to indoor plumbing.
By the time you’ve read through all of these facts, at least one child has died because they did not have access to a toilet and proper sanitation.
Here are 10 Things You Can Do for World Toilet Day from the World Toilet Organization.
Equality and Dignity
Equality and Dignity are the theme of this year’s event placing the spotlight on women’s violence and the degrading affect that open defecation has as a result of the lack of privacy. This problem becomes even more burdensome for those living with physical disabilities and the elderly who do not have access to proper sanitation.
“Imagine a world where no child dies needlessly from a lack of safe sanitation and where all people can live healthy, dignified lives.”
-Bill Gates, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
Events Celebrating World Toilet Day
- The Reinvent the Toilet Challenge (RTTC) awarded grants to 16 researchers around the world to develop new engineering processes to create safe and sustainable waste management systems. The challenge aims to create a toilet that removes germs from human waste, operates off the grid, and costs less than $0.05 per user per day.
- Organized by American Standard, Flush For Good is a program that donates a toilet pan every time someone purchases a Champion® Toilet.
- You can enter to win a new toilet by posting an instagram photo and tagging @American_Standard with the hashtag #ThankYouToiletContest. Last year, Professor Toilet donated 10 new toilets to Williamsburg Elementary School in Williamsburg, Ohio.
- World Toilet Summit connects organizations to collaborate on innovations, projects, and events that will improve world sanitation.
- The Urgent Run took place yesterday at East Coast Park in Singapore. The theme of the run was chosen to raise awareness of the plight of people who don’t have access to clean toilets and proper sanitation. The event was named Urgent Run because “when ya gotta go, ya gotta go.” Sometimes we pick up the pace to make sure we make it on time!
Hashtags to Use for World Toilet Day
- #WECANTWAIT
- #TOILETDAY
- #DOMESTOS
Related Topics:
- How a Small Flush Makes a Huge Impact in City School
- The Wellbeing Toilet: Ergonomic Toilet Promotes Proper Pooping
- Matt Damon’s Bathroom Strike
- Bill and Melinda Gates Kickstart the “Reinvent the Toilet” Fair to Flush Out Poor Sanitation
About the Author
Cheryl Khan is a designer and writer at Tradewinds Imports.com, an online specialty site dedicated to retailing fine bathroom furnishings. She has extensive knowledge about all the finer details that go into planning the perfect bath renovation project and is an expert on all things bathroom! Send her your bathroom Q’s on twitter @SuperInteriors!
