Pneumonia and diarrhea are the leading infectious killers of children around the world. In 2017, almost 300,000 diarrhea deaths were linked to inadequate sanitation.
A universal health revoLOOtion
A universal health
revo-LOO-tion
Health for all means toilets for all
The 2020 COVID-19 pandemic has been a painful case study about the consequences of not investing in longstanding, essential public health basics.
It has reinforced just how critical clean water and soap are to health outcomes, despite the fact that health and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) programs are often separately funded.
And it has widened the persistent gap of inequitable access to infectious disease prevention and treatment.
World Toilet Day (November 19th) is an opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to build back better. And we have several preceding decades of success to draw from as our guide.
It shouldn’t be revolutionary to say that access to toilets is a basic health intervention. And yet…
- 1.5 billion people use health facilities that don’t have toilets
- 2 billion people lack access to safe sanitation, fueling diarrheal disease and outbreaks like cholera and typhoid
In September 2019, global leaders signed a Political Declaration on Universal Health Coverage. This was followed in October by the Inter-Parliamentary Union Resolution on UHC. The plan to achieve UHC starts with a foundation of primary health care services: basic essential health services and products needed to prevent disease, promote health, and manage illness.
Death and suffering from preventable sanitation-linked infectious diseases is incompatible with universal health coverage. Essential health services need to include toilets.
We’re calling on sanitation and UHC advocates to join forces at the global, national, and local level. Our message is that health for all is impossible without sanitation for all. We need a universal health revo-LOO-tion.
As with all revolutions, it starts with making noise. Join us.
Take advantage of our pre-populated tweets (or draft your own) by clicking the Twitter icon in each asset below.
Hospitals should prevent infections, not cause them.
Pneumonia and diarrhea are the leading infectious killers of children around the world. In 2017, almost 300,000 diarrhea deaths were linked to inadequate sanitation.
Many families are forced to choose between treatment and family finances when their children fall ill with diarrhea.
There are fewer deaths from diarrhea today, but children are still getting sick. This perpetuates a vicious cycle of diarrhea and malnutrition.
Health for all must include sanitation for all. Open defecation is a major contributor to diarrhea.
No one should risk infection due to lack of toilets where they give birth and seek treatment. 15% of patients develop an infection during a hospital stay, with the proportion much greater in low-income countries.
What if there was an everyday intervention that could protect hundreds of thousands of children each year? There is: the humble toilet. Stunting is connected to infections caused by poor WASH. Sanitation helps stop the cycle.
Millions of Nigerians lack clean water, safe toilets, and sanitation. Call on Nigerian states to commit to improving water and sanitation in 2020.
Web text: The sanitation crisis is urgent! Print one of UN-Water’s posters for your office bathroom doors, take photos of people’s reactions, and share them with daniella.bostrom@unwater.org.
Plan International UK, SNV, UNICEF, WaterAid, the World Bank and WSSCC have issued a call to action for governments, donors, and partners. They’ve outlined five principles that should underpin rural sanitation programs moving forward.
WHO and UNICEF are seeking commitments from Governments, partners and international organizations to achieve the 2019 World Health Assembly Resolution on WASH in healthcare facilities.
When the floods came and privacy and safety were harder to find, the Kumar family decided to take out a loan and build a toilet instead of using nearby fields. The impact has been greater than they could have imagined.
DefeatDD’s state of the field report, Stop the Cycle, is a one-stop shop for diarrheal disease data.
We can't achieve universal health coverage if we don't address disease outbreaks like cholera and typhoid, which will continue as long as sanitation is poor.
Integrating hygiene and sanitation education with routine immunization appointments increased uptake of both in Nepal. Today, the program, piloted by WaterAid, is being scaled up across the country.
Key messages about sanitation and diarrheal disease: the burden, the consequences, and the solutions.
WaterAid’s report shares how WASH in healthcare facilities can strengthen health systems.
This UN fact sheet outlines the aims of World Toilet Day, the global sanitation targets, and the challenges to meeting them.
Meet Jack Sim, the man behind World Toilet Day and subject of the new documentary, Mr. Toilet: The World’s #2 Man.
#DefeatDD defeatdd.org/revolootion