Unsafe or absent sanitation endangers people and perpetuates inequalities.

 

 “In a changing world, one thing is constant: we’ll always need the toilet. No matter what lies ahead, we will always rely on sanitation to protect us from diseases and keep our environment clean. Today, billions of people still live without a safe toilet — with the poorest, especially women and girls, worst affected.”

 • A “safe toilet” is shorthand for ‘safely managed sanitation’, which means a toilet that is not shared with other households, that either treats or disposes of human waste on site, stores it safely to be emptied and treated off site, or connects to a functioning sewer and treatment plant. • Sanitation is a human right – entitling everyone to affordable and accessible sanitation services, in all spheres of life. • Inadequate sanitation lets human waste and wastewater contaminate the environment, especially in densely populated areas. Children are particularly vulnerable to diseases, such as cholera, which are spread by exposure to untreated waste. • Unsafe or absent sanitation endangers people and perpetuates inequalities. Without access to clean, functional, lockable, gender-segregated toilets, women, girls, older people and people with disabilities cannot fully participate in public spaces, workplaces and education. • Lack of safe, private toilets and washing facilities in schools contribute to many girls regularly missing school days, particularly during menstruation. • Human waste, if untreated, can contaminate rivers, lakes, and groundwater with harmful pathogens and nutrients, and contribute to water scarcity by making water unsafe to use.