The United Nations declared November 19 as "World Toilet Day “to highlight the need for improved sustainable sanitation around the world.
According to the U.N Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, there is a very distressing need for toilets. One out of three people around the world has no access to toilets or any sustainable hygienic amenities. That accounts for 2.5 billion people around the world.
Because of lack of toilets, diarrhea-related diseases are the second most leading death cause of children in developing nations. Moreover, it causes more deaths than malaria, measles and AIDS together.
More than the death statistics from these diseases, the recent calamity that Philippines have experienced has called for a renewed advocacy for improved and more sustainable sanitation in developing countries.
Photos and stories that tell of the devastations brought about by the typhoon Haiyan has created a depressing picture of a country that is faced with lack of toilets and inaccessible water sources.
UNICEF is one of the organizations that have sent portable toilets as well as sanitation supplies to the town of Tacloban, one of the worst hit by the typhoon. The agency is also requesting for $34 million worth of funds for the six-month assistance of 4 million kids affected by the calamity.
What Tacloban is currently experiencing is actually faced by a lot of people from other parts of the world in day-to-day basis. Sanitation in the form of toilets usually gets little priority when fund-raising and awareness programs are done as it is an unattractive business to take on.
Toilet Hackers representative for Asia, Garvey Chui, told CNN, "We aim to make these hugely important issues relevant and sexy," Toilet Hackers is a not-for-profit group that attempt to "dignified sanitation" to those lacking of such amenity.
This is why Ban Ki-Moon urged everyone to take part and push for improved sanitation on World Toilet Day, "We must break the taboos and make sanitation for all a global development priority."
