World Toilet Day is celebrated annually on November 19 to inspire action to address the global sanitation crisis and reach the 3.4 billion people who still live without a safe toilet. According to the Argentine News Agency, this year's theme is 'sanitation in a changing world' with the slogan 'We will always need a toilet.' The United Nations (UN) indicated that whatever the future holds, one thing remains constant: our need for safe sanitation. UN-Water detailed that today billions of people still live without a safe toilet, and the poorest, especially women and girls, are the most affected. In this regard, they noted that some of the factors increasingly pressuring sanitation systems are the deterioration of infrastructure, climate change, and lack of investment. The UN's campaign for this year highlights the need for future-ready toilets that are accessible, climate-resilient, low-emission, and backed by robust systems and investment. Access to sanitation is an essential human right to protect health and the environment and to enable sustainable development. Alarming data on the lack of safe sanitation: 3.4 billion people still do not have access to safely managed sanitation services, representing almost half of the world's population. 354 million people still practice open defecation, which carries a greater risk of disease and other harms, especially for women and girls. Every day, about 1000 children under five die from unsafe water, poor sanitation, and lack of hygiene. The intensification of glacier melt—exacerbated by methane emissions from sanitation—significantly contributes to global sea-level rise, putting coastal sanitation infrastructure and services at risk of flooding. At the current rate, 3 billion people will still be living without access to safe toilets in 2030.
