World Toilet Day is a day coordinated by UN-Water to spread awareness about the people who do not have access to a toilet. It may seem basic to most, but there are 2.4 billion people in the world do not have improved sanitation, or facilities that ensure hygienic separation of human excreta from human contact. Of those, 1 billion still defecate in the open because they don’t have toilets. This lack of sanitation often leads to increases in disease and malnutrition. Nov. 19 was officially marked in 2013 by the United Nations Assembly as World Toilet Day. In addition to sanitation, the coordinators of the day also focus on increasing access to nutrition and clean drinking water.
The slogan for World Toilet Day is “Be a Sharer. Be a Thinker. Be an Artist.”
- “Be a Sharer” and clean, show, and share the toilets we do have.
- “Be a Thinker” and strike a ‘thinker’ pose, take a selfie, and share your message on social media.
- “Be an Artist” and share what having a toilet means to you. Use art to let the world know what it means to gain access to a toilet.
UN-Water is using the hashtag #WeCantWait to spread awareness for the global campaign.
Other sponsors for the campaign include Unicef, WaterAid, Alto, Susana, Unilever, Worldtoilet.org, Pump Aid Beyond Water, United Nations University, Pooductive.com, Walk This Way.
For more information, visit http://www.worldtoiletday.info.
