World Toilet day - What is it ?
This Sunday the 19th is world toilet day, I thought it would be a great idea create a blog on what world toilet day is all about.
What is it about ?
World Toilet day has been going since 2001 and created the World Toilet Organisation, by 2013 it was finally recognised as a official UN day in 2013. It hopes to increase awareness about the problems that are being faced and raise more funding to improve sanitation. The subject has always been a topic that no one really liked to talk about and this day helps break down those barriers and get people involved It all about inspiring action to try and help solve the global sanitation problem and to help achieve Goal 6 of the Sustainable development goal, which is to ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all, so the goal is that everyone should have a safe toilet by 2030 and untreated wastewater should be halved. Every year there is a different theme.
This year it follows on the topic of wastewater from world water day, and the question is "Where does our poo go ? Here is a quick clip to introduce the topic.
Why this question ?
Around the world over 2.3 billion people are without items that we take for granted in terms of sanitation like toilets. In Africa the figure stands around 700,000 million people that don't have a basic toilet and 200 million just defecate anywhere they feel like outside. To try and meet the goal of SDG 6 everyone poo needs to be treated and disposed of in a sustainable method, it is believed that the 4 step journey shown in figure 1 is the best way. Why this is important is because without suitable sanitation systems in place poo gets disposed off untreated in the environment around where people live, get water and food. This means that it causes diseases to spread and causing major impacts on thousands of people and affecting child survival rates.
*click the hypo links to explore in more detail.
Figure one, Source
The next blog will follow this theme and take the next step further and explore what problems and impacts a lack of toilets has on commuites in Africa.
What is it about ?
World Toilet day has been going since 2001 and created the World Toilet Organisation, by 2013 it was finally recognised as a official UN day in 2013. It hopes to increase awareness about the problems that are being faced and raise more funding to improve sanitation. The subject has always been a topic that no one really liked to talk about and this day helps break down those barriers and get people involved It all about inspiring action to try and help solve the global sanitation problem and to help achieve Goal 6 of the Sustainable development goal, which is to ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all, so the goal is that everyone should have a safe toilet by 2030 and untreated wastewater should be halved. Every year there is a different theme.
This year it follows on the topic of wastewater from world water day, and the question is "Where does our poo go ? Here is a quick clip to introduce the topic.
Why this question ?
Around the world over 2.3 billion people are without items that we take for granted in terms of sanitation like toilets. In Africa the figure stands around 700,000 million people that don't have a basic toilet and 200 million just defecate anywhere they feel like outside. To try and meet the goal of SDG 6 everyone poo needs to be treated and disposed of in a sustainable method, it is believed that the 4 step journey shown in figure 1 is the best way. Why this is important is because without suitable sanitation systems in place poo gets disposed off untreated in the environment around where people live, get water and food. This means that it causes diseases to spread and causing major impacts on thousands of people and affecting child survival rates.
*click the hypo links to explore in more detail.
Figure one, Source
The next blog will follow this theme and take the next step further and explore what problems and impacts a lack of toilets has on commuites in Africa.
Hi Raphael, I think this is post is quite interesting. Although the aims of World Toilet Day are quite clear, do you think that it will actually make a difference? Of course I think it is good as it is raising awareness of the topic, but as the problem is so vast do you think that more should/could be done?
ReplyDeleteYes I agree the problem is so large that of course more can be done, but money is needed to be able to increase investment. In terms of world toilet day I believe that it does help get the message out and get people thinking, so really anything that promotes the issue is a step in the right direction.
DeleteHi Raphael, I think you have explained in detailed on what the World Toilet Day is. However, I think you can look at the bigger picture such as how does this relate to the people and communities in Africa, and what can the World Toilet Day actually achieve in regards to the water issues in Africa?
ReplyDeleteThanks for the feedback
Delete