On November 19, World Toilet Day will be celebrated around the world, drawing attention to the crucial role that sanitation improvements play in creating healthier communities.
This Sunday, November 19, let’s take some time to reflect. For billions in the developing world proper sanitation can mean the difference between education and ignorance, health and illness, prosperity and poverty. But 2.5 billion people still don’t have access to a toilet, and 11 percent of the world’s population still defecates in the open.
Jesse Shapiro is the Environmental Health Team Lead, Senior Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Advisor, and Sanitation Focal Point at USAID based in the Global Health Bureau. He provides WASH technical support to USAID missions in Africa and South East Asia with a focus on new project development and an increased emphasis on sanitation programming. With World Toilet Day 2017 coming up, he talked with Global Waters about about the importance of wastewater treatment and USAID's work in the sanitation sector.
Water Currents is produced biweekly by USAID’s E3 Water Office. Each issue contains recent news and articles on water sector issues, partner and donor updates, latest sector research, and a special focus on one topic. Please provide your feedback and suggestions by contacting the waterteam@usaid.gov.
Ghana is a country of jarring contradictions. Technology is quickly infiltrating daily lives: nearly everyone has a mobile phone, the majority have access to electricity, and millions use the internet. But less than 15 percent of the country has access to basic sanitation, and one in five Ghanaians defecate in the open.
On November 19, World Toilet Day will be celebrated around the world, drawing attention to the crucial role that sanitation improvements play in creating healthier communities.
Public-private partnerships have significant potential to accelerate progress toward the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals’ sanitation target. An exciting new Global Development Alliance between USAID and the Toilet Board Coalition promises to strengthen efforts to reach the 2.4 billion worldwide still without adequate sanitation.
In preparation for the United Nations’ World Toilet Day on November 19, 2016, SID-W, together with AECOM, has assembled a panel of experts to discuss experiences and prospects for achieving universal access to sanitation for urban populations by 2030.
