United Nations(UN)’s World Toilet Day is annually observed across the globe on November 19th to create awareness about the importance of sanitation for all. The day also highlights the importance of sanitation and hygiene in driving improvements in public health, gender equality, education, economic development and environmental protection.
- The World Toilet Day is organised by the UN-Water, the UN’s coordination mechanism on water and sanitation and Taskforce which includes the World Health Organisation(WHO).
The theme of World Toilet Day 2021 is “Valuing toilets”.
Aim:
To tackle the global sanitation crisis and achieve Sustainable Development Goal(SDG) 6: Water and Sanitation for all by 2030.
Background:
i.The World Toilet Day was first established by the World Toilet Organisation in 2001.
- The United Nations General Assembly(UNGA) adopted the resolution A/RES/67/291 titled “Sanitation for All” on 24th July 2013 and proclaimed the 19th November of every year as World Toilet Day.
iii.The first UN’s World Toilet Day was observed on 19th November 2013.
2021 Campaign for World Toilet Day:
i.The campaign of World Toilet Day 2021 focus on valuing toilets and aims to draw attention to the fact that toilets and the sanitation systems that support them are underfunded,
poorly managed or neglected across many parts of the world.
ii.The campaign also highlights that toilets also drive improvements in gender equality, education, economics and the environment
Key Points:
i.Around 50% of the global population or 3.6 billion people across the globe do not have access to safe sanitation.
ii.Every day, more than 700 children under the age of 5 die due to diarrhoea linked to unsafe water, sanitation and poor hygiene.
iii.The current International Decade for Action on Water for Sustainable Development (2018-2028) will increase the efforts towards meeting water-related challenges, including limited access to safe water and sanitation, increasing pressure on water resources and ecosystems, and an exacerbated risk of droughts and floods.
India’s Clean India Mission:
i.The Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) or ‘Clean India Mission’ campaign from 2014 to 2019 was launched in India with an aim to eliminate open defecation and improve solid waste management.
ii.This was the world’s largest sanitation programme, with high-level political support, which catalysed a mass movement to end open defecation.