The United Nations General Assembly has declared 19th November World Toilet Day in a resolution passed last week.
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In a statement Jan Eliasson, UN Deputy Secretary-General, said that despite progress made as part of the effort to reach the Millennium Development Goals, one-in-three people still do not have access to a basic toilet.
“Almost 2,000 children die every day from preventable diarrhoeal diseases,” he noted. “Poor sanitation and water supply result in economic losses estimated at $US260 billion annually in developing countries.”
Mr Eliasson said proper sanitation was also a question of “basic dignity”.
“It is unacceptable that women have to risk being the victims of rape and abuse, just to do something that most of us take for granted. It is also unacceptable that many girls are pushed out of school for lack of basic sanitation facilities.”
While World Toilet Day has been previously marked by international and civil society organizations all over the world, it has not been formally recognised as an official UN day.
