World Toilet Day – 19th November
World Toilet Day is an annual event celebrated on 19 November. The day emphasizes the importance of adequate sanitation and recommends access to safe and clean toilets for all. It was originally started in 2001 by the World Toilet Organization. The day is celebrated to draw attention to the international sanitation crisis. It is about taking action to tackle the global sanitation crisis and achieve Sustainable Development Goal 6 aims to “Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all” by 2030.
Toilets play an important role in creating a powerful economy and enhancing health and preserving the dignity and safety of people (especially girls and women). According to the World Health Organization in 2015, about 2.4 billion people are living without adequate sanitation and one in ten had no choice but to defecate in the open.
Every year a new theme is chosen for World Toilet Day by the United Nation and the theme for 2024 is “Toilets – A Place for Peace”.
History
World Toilet Organization started World Toilet Day on 19 November 2001. Jack Sim, the creator of the World Toilet Organization and the Restroom Association of Singapore realized that there should be an international day on the issue of toilets and so they went ahead with the idea of creating World Toilet Day so that it would help people around the world address sanitation issues.
Since the inception of World Toilet Day, businesses, governments, and many other groups have played a very important role in promoting this to change the world. The day has also broken many restrictions that are meant to discuss the topic of toilets and create safer and better solutions. Various events and public awareness campaigns increase public awareness for sanitation systems that include wastewater treatment, fecal sludge management, municipal solid waste management, stormwater management, hygiene, and handwashing.
UN Sustainable Development Goals aim for more than just toilets, Goal 6 calls for adequate sanitation. World Toilet Day start getting global recognization in 2007. The effort of the Sustainable Sanitation Alliance (SuSanA) raise awareness of the sanitation crisis, in 2010 the UN officially declared human rights to water and sanitation.
“Sanitation for All” was the name of the UN resolution which was jointly started by the Government of Singapore and the World Toilet Organization, which calls for collective action to end the world’s sanitation crisis. In 2016 the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were replaced by Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) whose Goal 6 aims for adequate sanitation, which includes the whole system for assuring that waste is safely processed.
How is World Toilet Day celebrated?
World Toilet Day is celebrated with great enthusiasm around the world. Every year the World Toilet Organization celebrates World Toilet Day with “Urgent Run“. Urgent Run is an initiative that calls for immediate action to curb the sanitation crisis and bring together communities around the world to spread awareness on the challenge of global sanitation and engage people with sanitation issues in their regional communities Runs the purpose of.
Over the years, communities around the world have come together to run 63 programs based on sanitation in 42 countries. These programs vary in nature, including educational events, fun events, toilet cleaning programs, awareness programs, motorbike parades, and carnivals.
Programs organized by companies, community groups, volunteers, NGOs, and universities are organized to unite local communities on the challenges of cleanliness. Countries around the world such as Benin, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Canada, China, Burundi, Cameroon, France, Germany, India, Ghana, Congo-Brazzaville, Gambia, Italy, Indonesia, Namibia, Pakistan, Philippines, Kenya, Netherlands, United States, Vietnam, Senegal, Mongolia, and Mozambique, etc. are included in this. They all share a unified message that calls for immediate action to curb the sanitation crisis globally.
World Toilet Day in India
Toilets are an important task in India. More than 60% of the population still lacks access to sanitation. World Toilet Day is an important day in India as it is an important issue in the country, especially for children and women. The ceremony is celebrated in the country’s capital, especially at the Toilet Museum in Delhi.
In 2014, for the first time in the world, a long and unique three-day celebration was held in Delhi from 18 to 20 November as the International Toilet Festival. The festival was organized to raise awareness of the importance of toilets. At the opening ceremony, around 1000 students from six countries formed a series in which they placed toilet pots on their heads. Series of themed events, fashion shows, seminars, talk shows, sporting events, awareness campaigns, and cultural events at popular places like Pragati Maidan, Metro stations, India Gate, Connaught Place, Delhi Haat, and Qutub Minar to raise awareness about toilets. Also held.
A social service organization in India organizes a number of programs to draw public attention to the issue of Sulabh International Toilet. Sulabh also organized the International Toilet Festival to have a discussion on World Toilet Day.
A toilet is not just a toilet. It’s a life-saver, dignity-protector, and opportunity-maker.
Suggested Read: Important Days In November
