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.
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 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.
Did you know?
- 3.5 billion people still live without safely managed sanitation, including 419 million who practise open defecation.
- 2.2 billion people still live without safely managed drinking water, including 115 million people who drink surface water.
- 2 billion people still lack basic hygiene services, including 653 million with no facility at all.
- Unsafe water, sanitation and hygiene are responsible for the deaths of around 1,000 children under five every day.
- Children who live in extremely fragile contexts are three times more likely to practise open defecation, four times more likely to lack basic sanitation services and eight times more likely to lack basic drinking water services.
Previous World Toilet Day themes
Explore the UN-Water resources going back to 2014, covering a range of themes, including toilets and equality, nutrition, jobs, wastewater, groundwater, and much more.
