A Global Toilet Day
to Raise Awareness

It takes just a quick glance at the toll poor sanitation causes to public health to realize how lucky we all are. What with flushing water, plenty of soft tissue and as much privacy as we think it’s our right to demand, it’s hard to imagine that we still need an annual day like Friday to call attention to such a vital issue. That’s exactly what the World Toilet Organization is trying to accomplish.
According to estimates, in the developing world, diarrheal diseases spread via feces kill more children than HIV/AIDS. In great part of African, Asian and Latin American countries, running water is a luxury, and people use nearby open air sewages is their toilets. And it’s useful to be reminded that, while we as we flush once more, not too far away Haiti is facing a cholera epidemic that can be traced directly to poor sanitation.
Along with access to clean water, proper nutrition and education, the right to have high standards of hygiene and improved sanitation should be inherent to human beings, if we expect to survive as a species. While wealthy nations face a growing threat from superbugs, created in part due to widespread overprescription of antibiotics, the rest of the world suffers for lack of access to even the most basic of them.
So this week, take a moment in your busy schedule of bathroom breaks to think of ways you can contribute for the global fight against fatal diseases caused by poor hygiene and lack of sanitation. Even if this time it’s just about to educate yourself, so we can make better choices for you and those who surround you. Do what you can to help out and don’t forget to wash well your hands.