World Toilet Day 2008

19 November 2008

2.5 billion still have no access to basic sanitation

Community latrine, Central African RepublicImage courtesy of Giacomo Pirozzi/Panos Pictures

 

Today is World Toilet Day, a day on which the world is reminded that more than 2.5 billion people - over 40% of the world’s population - still have no access to basic sanitation.

Of these, more than 1 billion live without access to any kind of toilet at all and are forced to defecate in the open. Basic sanitation is something that we often take for granted in developed countries. We may cringe when experiencing toilet facilities at large public events in the UK, yet these provisions are still a great advance on what billions of people in the developing world experience every day.

Lack of sanitation is one of the main causes of sickness, disease and infant death in developing countries. Around 4,000 people, mostly children, die every day as a result of diarrhoea-related illnesses, caused in part by unsafe water and a lack of access to basic sanitation facilities. The World Health Organisation estimates that improved sanitation reduces diarrhoea morbidity by 32%.

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A matter of dignity

Health is not the only thing to suffer through lack of access to basic sanitation. Sanitation is also a matter of dignity, for women and girls in particular.

Huge numbers of women without access to latrines wait until it is dark before going outside to defecate. This means they often go all day without using a toilet, which puts their health at risk. Having to go out at night also exposes them to the risk of sexual harassment and assault.

Furthermore, sanitation can affect education. A lack of toilets in schools means that girls are less likely to attend. Unicef found that providing toilets in schools in Bangladesh boosted girls’ attendance by 11%. Reducing illness and improving education will make it easier for people to find work and raise themselves out of poverty.

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Working to improve sanitation

Since 1990, more than 1 billion people have gained access to basic sanitation. But progress towards the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) for sanitation is seriously off track.

Water and sanitation are low on the political agenda in many developing countries, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa. The result is a lack of funds for promoting sanitation and hygiene and for ensuring that new schools, clinics and other public buildings have adequate toilets. If we continue as we have done in recent years, Sub-Saharan Africa will not meet the MDG for sanitation until 2108 – nearly a century too late.

DFID is committed to increasing funding for safe drinking water and sanitation. Launching DFID’s new water policy last month, International Development Secretary Douglas Alexander announced a commitment of £200 million in aid to Africa by 2010 and pledged to maintain this until 2013. Working with partners, including Unicef and WaterAid, DFID will also help at least 30 million more people in South Asia gain access to improved sanitation over the next five years. The new commitments announced in the policy put the UK among the three largest bilateral donors supporting water and sanitation in Africa.

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Engaging communities

But funding alone cannot resolve the problem. Community engagement is pivotal to the success of any improved sanitation schemes. However, sanitation is all too often a taboo subject. People are reluctant to talk about the issue, but entire communities need to engage in dialogue and change their behaviour for sanitation measures to have an impact.

DFID supports a range of initiatives with health workers, school teachers, religious leaders and advocacy groups, aimed at communicating the benefits of sanitation to ordinary people.

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Links

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