19 November 2012
SANITATION AND HYGIENE FUNDAMENTAL TO A BETTER LIFE - WORLD TOILET DAY
"Every day, 7,500 people die due to a lack of sanitation, 5,000 of whom are less than 5 years old. Every year, 272 million schooldays are missed due to water-borne or sanitation-related diseases,” the UN Special Rapporteur on the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation , Catarina de Albuquerque noted on World Toilet Day (Nov 19th).“Access to sanitation currently ranks as the most-off track of the Millennium Goals, and one that will obviously not be met by 2015” she added.
“Try to imagine yourself without toilets – no toilet in your workplace and no toilet at home. Imagine you had to relieve yourself in the streets of your city or town. Imagine yourself trying to find every single day a quiet, secluded spot. Imagine the insecurity and indignity of the situation – especially if you are a woman. And suppose you could smell excrement, because your city had no money to build and maintain a proper sewer system,” Ms de Albuquerque asked. “This is the situation billions of people face today – especially those who are most marginalized.”
Micah Challenge Australia is currently campaigning in relation to the MDG target to 'Halve the proportion of people without access to improved sanitation by 2015'.
Visit the Micah Challenge website to see how you can participate in the campaign.
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