World Toilet Day – November 19

Started by the World Toilet Organization in 2001, World Toilet Day (November 19) is an internationally recognized day to celebrate the humble yet critical role toilets play in our daily lives. For some, it is an opportunity to unveil the latest in toilet technology; for others, it is a great excuse to air your best potty jokes in public.

Increasingly though, World Toilet Day has become a call to action for one of the most lethal humanitarian crises on the planet - the global sanitation crisis.

• Around the world, 2.6 billion people - 42 per cent of the world's population - lack access to basic sanitation
• This means no toilets, no latrines, no separation of human waste from daily life
  Each year, some two million people die from sanitation and water-related diseases – over 5000 children each day
• As a result, healthcare costs soar, countless school and working days are lost, and communities around the world sink deeper into poverty and despair

It may not be glamourous, but adequate sanitation is vital to development and human life. Help us bring relief to the global sanitation crisis. Everyone deserves a place to go.

World Toilet Day (November 19, 2008)

Details coming soon!

World Toilet Day 2007

World Toilet Day 2007 coincided with the launch of the United Nations International Year of Sanitation 2008. To mark these occasions, WaterCan took part in a number of activities:

SWAN Canada: It’s time to bring relief to the global sanitation crisis – WaterCan, along with other Canadian organizations who are members of Sanitation & Water Action Network (SWAN) Canada, sent an open letter to the Prime Minister calling for Canada to boost its role in ending the global sanitation crisis. Read the letter here.

The Global Sanitation Fund: It’s time for Canada to act - Nearly half of the global population lacks access to basic sanitation like toilets or safe latrines. WaterCan, together with Results Canada, is calling for Canada to be among the first countries to support a critical initiative that can end this crisis. Learn more here.

Problem of waste too often neglected - In an interview with the Toronto Star’s Olivia Ward, WaterCan’s program director, George Yap, discusses the dirty truth about the sanitation crisis, and how it is inextricably linked to global poverty. Read the article here.

WaterCan talks toilets with the Ottawa Citizen - In this feature article, writer Chris Cobb looks at the global sanitation crisis and asks the experts what can be done to address it. Read the article here.

Water, Sanitation, and Flying Toilets - WaterCan talks to Andy Riga of the Montreal Gazette about "flying toilets" and the desperate need for sanitation in the developing world. Read the article here.