On 19th November every year, we celebrate World Toilet Day. Why a specific day for toilets of all things? The reason is because toilets are more important than you think! It’s the place we start our mornings in, the place where Muslims take their ablution before prayer time and a private the place which we frequent whenever we need to relieve ourselves. On World Toilet Day, global attention is drawn to the sanitation crisis – over 4.2 billion people worldwide still do not have access to clean drinking water, sewage disposal and lavatory systems.
Often taken for granted in first world countries, proper sanitation benefits the population more than imaginable. Here are some reasons why sanitation is so important to everyone no matter where we come from:
According to the World Health Organisation in 2019, approximately 297,000 children under the age of five die annually from diarrhoeal diseases due to poor sanitation, poor hygiene and even unsafe drinking water! In many third world countries, even clean water is hard to come by, let alone a clean toilet.
Did you know that almost half of the schools in the world do not have sinks or basins with soap and water available to students? (UNICEF, 2020) Imagine using a cubicle at school and being unable to wash yourself and your hands thoroughly after that! The lack of handwashing facilities has deterred many girls from going to school during the time of the month because the toilets available are unclean and unsafe for their use.
In rural areas where villagers are unable to access clean, reliable sources of water, the risk of contracting the virus is even higher. Women, children and the vulnerable elderly are unable to practice routine handwashing, frequent sanitization of their homes and have limited access to face masks.
According to the WHO, over half the global population (4.2 billion people) lack safe sanitation. Globally, at least 2 billion people use drinking water sources that have been contaminated with faeces. Poor sanitation contaminates drinking-water sources such as rivers through towns. As people wash their clothing, gather water and cook using the same water source, spreading deadly diseases among the wider population. A major cause of deaths in developing countries with large rural communities like Cambodia and Bangladesh comes from consuming water from rivers, beaches and food crops.
Global Ehsan Relief is dedicated to helping people and providing the poor and displaced the means to access clean and reliable sources of water and hygiene kits to the Syrian, Yemeni and Gazan refugees in need. Through our Care for Refugees project, Global Ehsan Relief provides hygiene kits, clean water and the birth campaign project that helps save newborn babies of Syrian refugees by providing sanitary items and clothing needed for both mother and child.
Together, we can help with the betterment of sanitation in the countries and communities that need it the most. Contribute to our Care for Refugees project today.
