World Toilet Day 2024: “Toilets: A Place for Peace”

Every year, on November 19, we observe World Toilet Day, an initiative by the United Nations aimed at raising awareness about a pressing and often overlooked issue: the lack of access to safe sanitation. This year, the theme, “Toilets: A Place for Peace,” highlights the crucial connection between proper sanitation and human dignity, health, and sustainable development. The focus is on how broken or inadequate sanitation systems impact lives and why sustainable sanitation is essential for a healthy and stable society.

While the topic might seem trivial or even humorous to some, the reality is that access to sanitation is a basic human right that affects the lives of billions of people worldwide.

The Global Sanitation Crisis: A Pressing Problem

To understand the magnitude of the issue, consider the following facts:

• 5 billion people still live without safely managed sanitation services, including 419 million who practice open defecation (WHO/UNICEF, 2023).
• 2 billion people lack access to safely managed drinking water services (WHO/UNICEF, 2023).
• 2 billion people do not have basic hygiene services, of which 653 million have no access to any sanitation facilities (WHO/UNICEF, 2023).
• Every day, approximately 1,000 children under five die due to unsafe water, poor sanitation, and lack of hygiene (WHO, 2023).
• Children living in extreme instability are three times more likely to practice open defecation, four times more likely to lack basic sanitation services, and eight times more likely to lack basic drinking water services (UNICEF, 2024).

This year, three key messages define the reality of toilets and the urgent need for sustainable solutions:

1. A Place for Peace

Toilets, a fundamental part of our daily lives, should be safe spaces, not a source of risk. Yet, sanitation systems for billions are threatened by conflict, climate change, disasters, and neglect.

Conflicts often damage or destroy sanitation infrastructure, preventing people from freely accessing facilities or collecting sufficient water for their needs. Attacks on civilian infrastructure, such as water supply systems, violate international humanitarian law.

2. A Place for Protection

By isolating waste, proper sanitation is crucial for public and environmental health. Broken or inadequate sanitation systems lead to contamination and the spread of deadly diseases.

Improperly disposed human waste, combined with unsafe water and poor hygiene practices, propagates diseases like cholera and typhoid, significantly impacting infant mortality rates, malnutrition, and chronic illnesses among the general population.

3. A Place for Progress

Sanitation is a human right that protects dignity and transforms lives, especially for women and girls. Greater investment and better management of sanitation systems are essential for a fairer, more peaceful world.

Sanitation: The Challenge We Cannot Ignore

Institutional neglect of sanitation in many parts of the world—through a lack of prioritization, funding, and maintenance—compromises the quality and reliability of services. This undermines progress toward achieving SDG 6 (clean water and sanitation for all by 2030), a goal agreed upon by all UN Member States.

At Almar Water Solutions, we are committed to driving positive change in global access to sanitation, emphasizing its importance as a basic right, not a privilege.

Through our projects and services, we address the growing need for clean water by implementing sustainable programs for desalination, potable water treatment, wastewater treatment, and water reuse, benefiting both urban and rural communities. By forging strategic partnerships in countries with sanitation deficits and deploying advanced technologies to enhance wastewater treatment and water reuse efficiency, we help create safer and more hygienic environments.

World Toilet Day reminds us of the urgency of ensuring that everyone has access to safe and dignified sanitation. It’s not just about building toilets—it’s about improving lives, protecting public health, and fostering a more equitable society. Sanitation access is a cornerstone of sustainable development.

On November 19, let’s reflect on the importance of sanitation and how this simple action can contribute to dignity, health, and equality for all. Each of us can play a role, no matter how small, in transforming the current reality.

References

Toilets: a place for peace. World Toilet Day 2024. United Nations.