World Toilet Day 2024; November 19th.

FORUM: "Sanitation for Peace." World Toilet Day 2024. This essential space, at the centre of our lives, should be safe and secure. But for billions of people, sanitation is under threat from conflict, climate change, disasters and neglect. ‘Safe toilets for all by 2030’ is one of the targets of Sustainable Development Goal 6 – but the world is seriously off track. 3.5 billion people still live without safely managed sanitation, including 419 million who practise open defecation. Faster action to improve and protect people’s access to sanitation is critical to building a fairer, more peaceful world. Conflict, extreme weather events and disasters can destroy, damage or disrupt sanitation services, these elements put Toilets under threat. When toilet systems don’t work – or don’t exist – untreated human waste spreads in the environment, unleashing deadly diseases such as cholera. Governments must ensure that sanitation and water services are resilient, effective, accessible to everyone and shielded from harm.

EVENTS: On November 19th; UN-Water — the UN’s coordination mechanism on water and sanitation will held a webinar under the theme is ‘Sanitation for peace’.  to mark the World Toilet Day 2024.

Statement of the UN-Water Chair on  World Toilet Day 2024; November 19th.

Toilets and sanitation protect us – and drive progress towards the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

But 3.5 billion people still live without their human right to safe sanitation, with profound impacts on public health, education, economies and ecosystems.

Safely managed sanitation is a human right, essential to a healthy and stable society. Yet many of the people being left behind without these services live in fragile contexts.

For them, sanitation is under threat from conflict, climate change, disasters and institutional neglect.

Attacks are destroying sanitation infrastructure and disrupting services.

Drought is impacting water-based sanitation systems and waste treatment processes.

Flooding, earthquakes and sea surges are damaging toilets, buildings and pipes, spreading human waste into soils and water sources.

No matter where people live or what is happening, they must have affordable and completely reliable access to a safe toilet.

But institutional neglect of sanitation has meant progress is too slow, too fragmented and too under-funded – and the Sustainable Development Goal 6 target of safe toilets for all by 2030 is seriously off track.

This World Toilet Day, if we are to build a fairer and safer future for everyone, we must accelerate much faster towards fulfilling this promise.

Alvaro Lario.

Statement of the United Nations Secretary-General on World Toilet Day 2024; November 19th.

Toilets are fundamental to promoting human health, spurring development, and helping all people, especially women and girls, live their lives in dignity.

But too many members of the human family live without this basic human right. At the current rate, 3 billion people will still live without safely managed sanitation by 2030.

This year’s World Toilet Day shines a light on the threats to sanitation posed by conflict, climate change, disasters and neglect.

I urge all governments to support the United Nations Strategy for Water and Sanitation, prioritize clean water and sanitation across budgets, and invest in climate-resilient infrastructure that can protect these systems in the face of extreme weather.

Cooperating to safeguard water can power and sustain peace. Water stewardship can strengthen multilateralism and ties between communities, and build resilience to climate disasters. It can also drive progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals – which are the foundation of peaceful societies – including by improving health, reducing poverty and inequality, and boosting food and water security.

We must work to expand assistance to developing countries — through both financing and technology — to build and maintain these life-sustaining systems.

And all parties to conflict must stop targeting sanitation and water infrastructure.

Let’s spare no effort to meet our commitment to water and sanitation for all, and ensure that every person in the world can realize this fundamental right.

António Guterres.

Get involved!

Be part of the global campaign called ‘Toilets – A Place for Peace’. You can help raise awareness and drive action to tackle the sanitation crisis. Download resources to get involved and find out more about the connection between toilets and peace.

Key messages

Toilets are a place for peace. This essential space, at the centre of our lives, should be safe and secure. But for billions of people, sanitation is under threat from conflict, climate change, disasters and neglect.

Toilets are a place for protection. By creating a barrier between us and our waste, sanitation services are essential for public and environmental health. But when toilet systems are inadequate, damaged or broken, pollution spreads and deadly diseases get unleashed.

Toilets are a place for progress. Sanitation is a human right. It protects everyone’s dignity, and especially transforms the lives of women and girls. More investment and better governance of sanitation are critical for a fairer, more peaceful world.

COMMUNICATION MATERIALS: 2024 World Toilet Day | Sanitation for peace,

ACTIVATION KIT in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.
CERTIFICATE in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.
FACTSHEET in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.
POSTER in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.
CAMPAIGN TRELLO with social media resources in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish, and editable files.