World Toilet Day: Leaving No One Behind

November 19 is recognised as the World Toilet Day by the United Nations

This day is celebrated annually, to tackle the global sanitation crisis. It promotes sanitation and break taboos around toilets.

According to the U.N. the theme for World Toilet Day 2019 is ‘Leaving No One Behind.’

It aims at pushing for access to sustainable sanitation to all by 2030.

According to News18, despite sanitation being a human right, 4.2 billion people are deprived of safely managed sanitation.

Safely managed sanitation is having access to hygienic toilet facilities that are not shared with other people in the house.

The excrement should either be isolated from human contact or safely disposed off.

Despite defecating in the open causing life-threatening diseases, 637 million people across the world still do the same.

The U.N. further notes that around 20 million children under the age of five die are estimated to die every year due to diseases such as unsafe drinking water, sanitation and hand hygiene.

Lack of sanitation is estimated to cause around 40 milllion diarrheal deaths annually and also the cause of several diseases including intestinal worms, trachoma and schistosomiasis.

According to a report by the World Health Organization (WHO), at least 2 billion people across the world use drinking water source contaminated with faeces.

A toilet is not mere toilet but it is in fact “life-saver”, dignity-protector” and “opportunity-maker”.