This year’s World Toilet Day celebration is anchored with the theme "Toilets for Every Juan: BIDA ang pamilyang gumagamit ng Kubeta".  The humble ‘kubeta’ saves lives but around 50.3 million Filipinos, roughly around 10 million families do not have access to safely managed sanitation services and of these some 24 million use limited/unimproved toilets or none at all based on the 2019 Annual Poverty Indicators Survey (APIS).  Not having a toilet is one of the world’s greatest challenges to human health. We need to take action urgently if we’re to meet the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6: Water and sanitation for all by 2030.

Globally, diarrhea caused by dirty water and poor toilets kills a child under five every two minutes. Enabling families on a low income to gain access to affordable homes with toilets and running water would cut the number of diarrheal deaths by a third. One in ten people have no choice but to defecate in the open which spreads diseases like typhoid, cholera, hepatitis, polio and trachoma. Open defecation creates a vicious cycle of disease and poverty. Moreover, loss of human productivity due to illnesses caused by lack of toilets and sanitation is estimated to cost many countries up to 5% of GDP. According to the World Health Organization, investments on toilets and sanitation has increased productivity and lower health care costs.

For girls, they miss school during their menstruation due to lack of access to toilets and washrooms. Decent housing provides hygienic spaces where girls can manage their period without shame and continue their education. Decent, affordable homes with toilets mean women and girls don’t have to use outdoor public restrooms as sexual assaults happen when women and girls go outside to use the toilet. Sustainable Development Goal 6 has a target to eliminate open defecation and ensure everyone has access to sustainable sanitation services by 2030, “paying special attention to the needs of women and girls and those in vulnerable situations”.

I join those who raised concern on thousands of children in poor households and remote areas, including those living in provinces affected by Typhoons Rolly and Ulysses, that are exposed to life-threatening diseases including diarrhea due to lack of access to proper toilet facilities.  Recent typhoons forced thousands of families to resort to open defecation, putting children’s lives at risk from water borne diseases. As we struggle to stop the spread of the Coronavirus and recover from the series of devastating typhoons, our collective action to provide access to clean water and toilet facilities to children in need and their families are of utmost importance.To reach the national targets of universal access to sanitation, an average investment of PhP 30 billion per year is needed. This is 13% of the additional internal revenue allotment that local government units will receive by 2022, valued at PhP225.3 billion per year.

This year’s World Toilet Day 2020 also focuses on sustainable sanitation and climate change. Climate change is getting worse. Flood, drought and rising sea levels are threatening sanitation systems – from toilets to septic tanks to treatment plants. Everyone must have sustainable sanitation, alongside clean water and handwashing facilities, to help protect and maintain our health security and stop the spread of deadly infectious diseases such as COVID-19, cholera and typhoid. We can achieve our national sanitation targets, but we need to quadruple our current efforts. We should start turning to smart financing and innovative technologies to make toilets accessible even in the most remote villages or coastal areas and in poor communities. #LeoChristianLauzon