World Toilet Day 2020
The world around us is a fantastic paradise to dwell, if we take care to create proper infrastructure for recycling, sanitation, waste management and resource rehabilitation. An appropriate mechanism of sanitation is one of the necessities of human beings. Cleanliness and hygiene are one of the primary concerns that help to rebuild the environment into a beautiful castle.
World Toilet Day is eventfully observed on November 19th around the world. To maintain the decorum of our resource management services and manage the Earth by tolerating pollution, we have to address a very critical issue – ‘sanitation and building toilets’. Every country faces social, economic and environmental challenges in maintaining good sanitation infrastructure.
Many people, even to this day, across the globe, do not have access to toilets because of poorly planned residential units and also due to shortage of water. Town planning authorities sometimes fail to endure proper planning of drainage and sewerage systems leading to failure and mismanagement of toilets. This article is a comprehensive write up on World Toilet Day 2020 regarding its history, significance, themes, celebrations and relevant FAQ’s. Let’s explore more in the forthcoming sections.
World Toilet Day History
The first-ever celebration of World Toilet Day was inaugurated on July 24th 2013 under a unique theme titled “Sanitation for all”. From that year onwards, World Toilet Day began to be celebrated on November 19th annually. The world toilet organisation realised the importance to spread sanitation awareness and started their campaign from the year 2001.
Their efforts took fruits when the UN General Assembly took concrete steps to implement hygiene practices among its global citizens in the year 2013. They also have a future milestone to be achieved by the year 2030. It is beautifully termed as the Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG6), according to which the organisation aims to provide sanitation facilities to all human beings on Earth by the year 2030.
Significance of World Toilet Day 2020
Taking the sanitation challenge on a global platform is what World Toilet Day aims to do. If we are to look at numbers, it is believed that more than 2.5 billion people do not have immediate access to sanitation facilities. They do not have a proper toilet built for them at their homes and instead use open areas and fields to answer nature’s calls. So, the UN has sought this as an upcoming issue before the world and has raised global concerns about implementing a resolution.
Recognition by world leaders about this unhygienic practise of open defecation is also drawing eyes from every part of the world. Nature can healthily sustain for many more generations, provided we ensure humans have access to necessary sanitation facilities.
The critical reason why so many people still do not have a toilet built for themselves are many. The primary reason is the shortage of water at the place where the bathroom exists. Along with the scarcity of water, the quality of water for sanitation is also a matter of concern. Significantly less awareness of hygiene practices and healthy living habits make matters even more poorly.
At the end of all this, old aged people and children are especially prone to water-bound diseases like diarrhoea. Poor personal hygiene and lack of toilet training can lead to the transmission of deadly infections from one person to another. In simple words, every one in three persons across the global population has no access to toilets in his or her daily livelihood.
Countries that are stooped in extreme poverty see a tremendous rise in child deaths due to poor hygienic practices. Adding to this menace, it is the female population that bears the brunt of the apathy. Relieving oneself in the open can cause enough shame and defame a person’s image permanently, but this is truer for the women gender. Ladies are at high risk with open toilet practices during their menstruation and pregnancies.
World Toilet Day 2020 Themes
It is interesting to note that the UN adopted unique themes for celebrating World Toilet Day since the year 2012. An additional practice began from the year 2016, where the annual themes of World Toilet Day and World Water Day began to be combined, and both were celebrated with the same theme. Here are the yearly themes of some past years:
- The year 2014 gave a human angle to the celebration of World Toilet Day by providing the theme – “Equality and Dignity”.
- The year 2015 concentrated on the health aspects of proper sanitation and themed the year as “Toilets and nutrition”.
- 2016 had an interrelated theme titled “Toilets and jobs”.
- 2017 focussed on the importance of water in sanitation and themed the year as “Wastewater”.
- The year 2018 was themed “Nature-based solutions”.
- 2019 puts the bar on reaching the milestone of 2030 by providing every citizen with access to necessary toilet facilities. So it is very aptly themed “Leaving no one behind”.
World Toilet Day Celebrations
Many important sanitation committees worldwide launch their annual reports on World Toilet Day to distribute data on statistics and facts. The international labour office provides many handouts and official papers as part of the day’s celebrations. Water and sanitation management organisations plan sustainable management guidelines on this day for a greener future.
WHO in association with UNICEF promotes many essential activities related to nutrition, water management, sanitation concerns, hygiene policies, programs and practices. Many organisations and voluntary houses organise sanitation management workshops to teach people the need for better sanitation facilities.
The youth are roped in to launch campaigns in rural areas where there is a greater need to educate people about the need to have a toilet in every household. Drawing competitions highlighting the importance of sanitation are conducted in schools and colleges. Educating and campaigning for the public is the most important thing to do on International Toilet Day.
Conclusion
Through social media campaigns and active awareness programs on television, messages for a healthy lifestyle can reach out to millions of people. More than 40 countries from various corners across the world participate globally in multiple events held on account of International Toilet Day.
The Indian film industry highlighted the sanitation crisis in the socially relevant movie Toilet: Ek Prem Katha, which is an adaptation of the English movie Toilet: A Love Story.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is World Toilet Day?
World Toilet Day is a global awareness creation day initiated by the UN to handle sanitation problems looming large worldwide.
2. What is the specific theme of World Toilet Day 2020?
The theme for 2020 is yet to be ascertained by the UN, but it promises a unique and attractive theme like every year.
3. Who started the Toilet Day?
The World Toilet Organisation first began toilet day for the first time in 2001 and almost after twelve years of its initiation, the UN officially recognised the day in 2013.
4. When is World Toilet Day?
November 19th is annually celebrated as World Toilet Day worldwide.
5. Why do we celebrate World Toilet Day?
The global sanitation crisis and water crisis are combined issues the world is facing, and they can’t be treated or resolved in isolation. We have to inspire countries to come forward from their comfort zones and tackle the issue with positive actions and create public awareness on impending issues. Campaigns for sustainable development can yield fruitful results only when every country celebrates global events like World Toilet Day, and every citizen ensured access to necessary facilities like sanitation and good quality water.
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