November 19th is recognised as the United Nations official World Toilet Day, raising awareness of the estimated 3.6 billion people worldwide, nearly half of the global population, living without access to proper sanitation. Lack of adequate sanitation can cause the contamination of drinking water supplies, affecting over 2 billion people. This leads to the spread of diseases such as cholera and intestinal worms, tragically killing over 700 children every single day. Proper toilet facilities not only protect health, but also provide dignity and security, especially for women.
So what can we do? There are many projects and organisations around the world who are working towards the provision of safe sanitation, with the goal of Toilets For All by 2030. There are numerous approaches to safe sanitation, some of which incorporate compost toilets and the production and redistribution of humanure. This is also known as Ecological Sanitation. Projects such as Humanure Kenya and Give Love, provide skills, training and education, enabling them to create facilities, employment and healthier communities.
To find out more about World Toilet Day and some of the organisations working towards safe sanitation, please see the links below:
Who cares about toilets? – YouTube
World Toilet Day | Valuing Toilets