World Toilet Day 2024
World Toilet Day, celebrated on 19 November every year, is about inspiring action to tackle the global sanitation crisis and reach the 3.5 billion people still living without safely managed sanitation. Established by the World Toilet Organization in 2001, World Toilet Day was made an official United Nations Observance in 2013. Every year, UN-Water – the UN’s coordination mechanism on water and sanitation sets the theme for World Toilet Day. In 2024, the theme is ‘Sanitation for peace’.
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. ‘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.
Toilets under threat
Conflict, extreme weather events and disasters can destroy, damage or disrupt sanitation services. 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.
Key messages you should know on World Toilet Day 2024
- 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.
