World Toilet Day: Making the Invisible Visible
Yilian Jiang ’25
Daphne Wong ’26
Despite its lighthearted title, World Toilet Day, which rests on November 19th, is an international day of observance intended to recognize a serious issue: the global sanitation crisis. Established by the United Nations in 2013, the holiday raises awareness for the critical but often overlooked issue of unsustainable sanitation practices and their impact on groundwater pollution.
While we may take our hygienic sanitation systems for granted, the lack of access to properly managed and functioning toilets is prevalent in underdeveloped countries. Currently, 892 million people practice open defecation worldwide, which is detrimental to the environment and community welfare (Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention, 2022). When left untreated, the buildup of excrement pollutes groundwater reserves, – the primary freshwater source for many communities – exacerbating the spread of diarrheal diseases. Even when toilets are available, inadequate pipe maintenance and dumping management can still cause human waste to infiltrate the environment. As a consequence, communal food and water sources are contaminated with illness-spreading bacteria (United Nations, n.d.).
With the active threat of infectious diseases ever-present, the community's health is immediately called into question. As water is central to sustaining everyday activities and processes, a disruption in its quality directly impacts living conditions. According to the CDC, nearly 1,000 children die from diarrheal diseases due to contaminated water and poor hygiene. Aside from augmenting child mortality rates, the utilization of contaminated water intensifies malnutrition rates, stunts growth, and heightens the occurrence of antimicrobial resistance–a development that makes illnesses harder to treat (World Health Organization, 2022).
The United Nations officially recognizes access to clean water and sustainable sanitation practices as a fundamental human right (Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights, n.d.). Unfortunately, the journey to fulfill these unalienable rights is complex and hindered by the lack of media coverage. World Toilet Day, therefore, overcomes traditional taboos by acknowledging that poor sanitation is an urgent issue that must be addressed. The website’s motto–“Making the invisible visible”– rings true, as World Toilet Day amplifies the experiences and hardships of millions worldwide and encourages relevant discussion surrounding topics of hygiene.
References
CDC. (2023, March 8). World toilet day. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
https://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/global/world-toilet-day.html.
Nations, U. (n.d.). Background - World toilet day. United Nations. https://www.un.org/en/observances/toilet-day/background.
OHCHR and the rights to water and sanitation. (n.d.). OHCHR. https://www.ohchr.org/en/water-and-sanitation.
WHO, W. H. O. (2022, March 21). Sanitation. World Health Organization: WHO.
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/sanitation.
