World Toilet Day 2024 Theme: Toilets, A Place for Peace
Until the spirit of sustainable ecosystems and livelihoods, this year’s World Sanitation Day should be viewed as a day to evaluate where we are at as a society in putting sanitation in the circular economy.
This can be done by ticking the achievement boxes and crossing the ones not met on the entire sanitation chain.
The evaluation will start by checking the provision or availability of toilets that are dignified and serves the purpose of providing “a place for peace “ .
Secondly to tick or cross whether the system used is able to collect the waste effectively which will there after be treated for ease and safety of handling during the transformation to renewable energy, organic fertilizer and clean water.
In a situation where dignified toilets, Waste collection system, Waste treatment and waste transformation boxes are all ticked then good health will be achieved,food security enhanced and jobs created.
However, despite the UN including the Open defecation free (ODF) as a goal in the sustainable development goals (goal 6) ,It is yet to be achieved especially in developing countries due to people reverting back to open defecation despite getting the certificate due to collapsing toilets .
Although there has been a decline in the open defecating households in the world from 1.3 billion to 419 million between 2000 and 2022,(journal of health, population and nutrition 43 ) there is still high open defecation in the sub Saharan Africa, Kenya included.
Article Written by Julia Wahome