Toilets really can save some lives

Dear editor: In our western society it is not polite to talk about toilets as such.

It is not talked about except in hospitals and care homes where the question about daily BMs (bowel movements) is crucial.

I was astonished when I overheard a 30year-old young woman tell her friends she is only going camping with them if there is access to flush toilets.

We live in a global society now. News pumps out the horror of war and fleeing refugees. How is it that we as a western society still do not realize that almost 892 million people still practice open defecation?

The UN has named Nov.19 World Toilet Day to draw all of our attention to the global sanitation crisis and to inspire action.

I personally have witnessed small actions by volunteers, engineering students, who gave their time and expertise to help a poverty stricken village in Mexico construct toilets. Education around sanitation became part of that process. One can only imagine the relief for women and girls who no longer had to find a safe place to relieve themselves.

According to statistics drawn from WASH NGO WaterAid, UNICEF and WHO (World Health Organization) lack of access to proper sanitation has the following consequences:

- Every minute a newborn dies from an infection caused by lack of safe water and unclean environments.

- Diarrhea caused by inadequate sanitation kills 289,000 children every year.

- Children who survive are more susceptible to malnutrition and stunting. Stunting causes physical and intellectual challenges that last a lifetime.

- Poor sanitation increases the risk of infection in childbirth; sepsis accounts for 11 per cent of maternal deaths.

-1.8 billion people use an unimproved source of drinking water with no protection against contamination from faces.

The UN has correctly reported “toilets save lives, because human waste spreads killer diseases.”

Toilets are a taboo topic but for women and girls around the world ignoring safe access to sanitation increases rates of violence and decreases a girl’s ability to complete school. Having a safe clean toilet for girls in schools increases student attendance, contributes to dignity, respect and gender equality and significantly reduces hygiene-related diseases.

It is my hope that our politicians will take advantage of Nov.19 Toilet Day to put in place further actions to improve the lives of millions.

Lennor Stieda Victoria