Africa Water, Sanitation & Hygiene Nov - Dec Vol. 9 No.6 | Page 28

Sanitation

World Toilet Day, 19 November

Equality, dignity and the link between gender-based violence and sanitation
19 November has been formally
recognized by the United Nations
General Assembly as World Toilet
Day.

Facts
• 1 in 3 women are victims of violence at least once
in their lifetime.

W

orld Toilet Day has
been marked by international and civil society
organizations all over the world for many years. However,
it was not formally recognized as an official UN day until a
UNGA resolution of 24 July 2013, which requested UNWater, in consultation with relevant entities of the United
Nations system and in collaboration with Governments
and relevant stakeholders, to facilitate the implementation
of World Toilet Day in the context of Sanitation for All.
The objective of this initiative is to make sanitation for all
a global development priority and urge changes in both
behaviour and policy on issues ranging from improving
water management to ending open defecation.
Today, 2.5 of the world’s seven billion people, mostly in
rural areas, do not have proper sanitation and 1.1 billion
people still defecate in the open. This has significant
impacts on human health, dignity and security, the
environment, and social and economic development. The
countries where open defecation is most widely practiced
are the same countries with the highest mortality rate of
children under five, high levels of under nutrition and
poverty, and large wealth disparities.
World Toilet Day intends to raise awareness of sanitation
issues – including hygiene promotion, the provision of
basic sanitation services, and sewerage and wastewater
treatment and reuse in the context of integrated water
manag