Why should you care about World Toilet Day?
Revised October 2024, originally published Nov 18, 2021
Health and opportunity or disease and poverty:
this under-appreciated invention is a deciding factor.
A standard North American porcelain toilet
World Toilet Day is a big deal
You may not know that Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024 is World Toilet Day. You're not alone. Many of us in Canada take toilets for granted; they are rarely mentioned and deftly avoided in polite conversation. But at Calgary's Centre for Affordable Water and Sanitation Technology (CAWST), it's a big deal because, right now, 3.5 billion people worldwide don't have the safely managed sanitation provided by toilets (or even outhouses), including 419 million who practise open defecation.¹ Every day, they're exposed to sickness, disease and death, facing a lifetime trapped in poverty as a result. Toilets are a key tool in ending these problems.
The simple toilet may very well be the single most important invention in your home.
Toilets: we need them in the big sanitation picture
Life without a toilet is dirty, dangerous and devoid of human dignity. Everyone should have access to hygiene through the safe, sustainable sanitation toilets provide. In Canada, we often fail to recognize the privilege afforded by having access to toilets in our homes, workplaces and schools. The need is so critical that the United Nations outlines this need in Sustainable Development Goal #6: "Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all."
Why are toilets so important?
Defecating in the open continues to perpetuate a vicious cycle of disease and poverty. Countries with widespread open defecation show the highest number of deaths of children under five years of age, and the highest levels of malnutrition and poverty.
Toilets keep human waste out of water and food chains and reduce the spread of infectious diseases.
Toilets improve gender equality and education. When separate sanitary facilities are provided at school and work, girls and women aren't forced to stay home while they are menstruating.
Wastewater and sludge from toilets contains valuable water, nutrients, and energy. Safe reuse of treated human waste saves water, reduces and captures greenhouse gas emissions for energy production, and provides agriculture with a reliable source of water and nutrients.
A village pit latrine in Sembehum, Liberia, in March 2022. CAWST evaluated the stabilized soil pit lining latrine project with client/partner Empowerment Rehabilitation Services (ERS).
CAWST provides a wide range of resources related to water and sanitation.
Check out the sanitation collection in our extensive WASH resources library. Get tools to plan for different latrine designs, excreta management, solid waste management, and fecal sludge management. Our e-learning modules are short, free and practical, ideal for learning in the field or on a tight schedule.
Other resources
Designed by many of the world's leading experts on water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), CAWST provides over 3,000 resources to help people learn about WASH and, just as important, train others who can then spread this life-saving knowledge even further.
What can you do for World Toilet Day?
How many other inventions have come and gone in your home, while your toilet has been the unsung hero? Think about it, give it some thanks on social, and use the hashtag #WorldToiletDay.
And, well, we know you’re taking your phone in there. Take a couple of minutes to support CAWST with a donation, and help us make a stink about it. From Nov 12 to Dec 31, 2024, all donations will be doubled through our holiday matching program.
This year, the United Nations' theme for World Toilet Day is Toilets: A Place for Peace. This theme highlights the importance of toilets as vital spaces in our lives that should be safe and secure for everyone. You can help raise awareness and drive action. Click here to find out more and get involved.