World Toilet Day

Tags: Important Days

Every year on 19 November 'World Toilet Day' is celebrated.

Important facts

• According to the World Health Organization report, currently around 360 crore people around the world are deprived of toilets.

• According to the 2011 census in India, 67 percent of households in villages and 13 percent of households in cities practise open defecation.

• According to the Research Institute of Compassionate Economics, despite 40 percent of the country's households having toilets, one member from each household regularly goes to open defecation.

• To change this thinking of the people and keep cleanliness in mind, 'World Toilet Day' is celebrated every year on 19th November.

• The Government of India also celebrates this day as a part of its Swachh Bharat Mission with an aim to promote awareness about cleanliness.

• The Department of Drinking Water & Sanitation (DDWS), Ministry of Jal Shakti, under the Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen) is organising ‘Swachhta Run’ across rural India, to mark the World Toilet Day. 

Theme of 2022

• The 2022 theme is ‘Making the Invisible Visible’. 

• The theme explores how inadequate sanitation systems spread human waste into rivers, lakes and soil and polluting underground water resources. 

• The theme focuses on groundwater sanitation.

Background of the day

• It was an initiative started by Singaporean Jack Sim, who founded an NGO called the World Toilet Organization in the year 2001.

• The United Nations also recognized the right to water and sanitation as a fundamental human right in 2010.

• On 24 July 2013, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in its 67th session passed a resolution designating 19 November as World Toilet Day.

• The UNGA resolution titled 'Sanitation for All' encouraged increasing access to public health and sanitation, especially for people from the poorer sections of society.