Thursday 19 November is World Toilet Day.
As it stands, 433 million school days are lost per year due to diseases caused by lack of access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene. That’s the same as every child in Australia missing school for 6 months.
A staggering 2.4 billion people around the world do not have access to a clean, safe toilet which means many have to relieve themselves in the open, threatening their health, safety and dignity.
Without access to proper sanitation, preventable illnesses, such as diarrhoea, can spread within communities. This leads to malnutrition, the stunting of children’s growth and children taking sick days off school which in turn affects their education.
Domestos, The Unilever Foundation and UNICEF Partnership is working to change lives with better sanitation and access to toilets. 69,000 school children have benefited from sanitation and hygiene education programmes in 260 schools, meaning fewer sick days and more children staying in school*.
* Figures are based on actual reported beneficiaries reached to-date in conjunction with funds dispersed in 2012 – 2014.
