World Toilet Day 2012:Raising Awareness on the crucial role of toilets for everyone

From left:  Nadia Mulya – MC & Moderator, Perwakilan The Community of Sanitation Entrepreneur of Grobogan, Haikel Fahim – Advocacy & Communications Manager World Toilet Organization, Sjukrul Amien – Director of Residential Environmental Health Development (PPLP, Pengembangan Penyehatan Lingkungan Permukiman) of Ministry of Health, Nurmahmudi Ismail – Walikota Depok, Ennie Boediardjo Satoto – Indonesian Toilet Association, Maraita – Bappenas, Vina Panduwinata – Artis Pendukung, Ebes Rasyid – iPhonenesia, Fardila Astari – Client Service Director of Fortune PR.

                     Nugroho Tri Utomo – Director of Residential and Housing of Bappenas

Nadia Mulya – MC & Moderator, Haikel Fahim – Advocacy & Communications Manager World Toilet Organization, Naning Adiwoso – Chairman of Indonesian Toilet Association, Nugroho Tri Utomo – Director of Residential and Housing of Bappenas, Sjukrul Amien – Director of Residential Environmental Health Development (PPLP, Pengembangan Penyehatan Lingkungan Permukiman) of Ministry of Health.

World Toilet Day 2012:Raising Awareness on the crucial role of toilets for everyone

Annual event to to raise global awareness of the 2.6 billion people who lack access to proper sanitation, and the millions of lives lost because of it.

Singapore, November 19, 2012, - Once again, The World Toilet Organization (WTO), a global, non-profit organization advocating sustainable sanitation, marked the World Toilet Day (WTD) on November 19to raise awareness on the crucial role of toilets in promoting the health, dignity and well-being of communities worldwide.In 2001 WTO declared 19th of November as World Toilet Day (WTD). Today, it is celebrated in over 20 countries with over 34 events being hosted by various water and sanitation advocates.To bolster the annual campaign, the WTO has joined hands with the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC) try to spread the concerns through the revampedWTD website athttp://www.worldtoiletday.organd to enable people find the information need they to get involved in this global movement.

The annual World Toilet Day is commemorated every year on 19^th of November, aims to break the taboo of talking about toilets, and increasing awareness of the importance of toilets and sanitationfacilities. Toilet is crucial for human life, not onlytopreserve human health, but also can improve the dignity, living standards, and empower communities.

Unfortunately, a staggering 2.5 billion people – that’s almost 40% of the world population, live in dismally due to limited access to functioning toilets and sanitation facilities.Around 1.1 billion people are forced to defecate and urinate in the open. The resulting contaminated water leads to diarrheal diseases. Meanwhile, almost 900 million people are forced to risk their lives on a daily basis by consuming dirty water because they have no other option.Lack of basic sanitation is a silent serial killer that targets the most vulnerable: every 20 seconds a child is killed by a disease directly related to poor sanitation. This amounts to more deaths than AIDS, malaria and measles combined.

There are also massive economic costs associated with poor sanitation. The World Bank’s Water and Sanitation Program reported that per year, poor sanitation costs India nearly three trillion rupees  ($53.8 billion), South East Asia around 88.5 trillion Indonesian rupiah ($9.2 billion) and Kenya around 27.7 billion shillings ($324 million). These astounding price tags reflect the increased costs for providing health care and accessing potable water (both for households and agricultural purposes) and the related decrease in tourism dollars, since places with poor sanitation are less attractive to travellers.

In 2001, WTO was founded and initiated the annual WTD eventto bring attention to the lack of sanitation in the world, especially in developing countries. This year, with the new catchy slogan “I Give A Shit”, WTO once again tries to grab the attention of governments, private sectors, civil societies and media on the sanitation issues.

Jack Sim, the Founder and Director of the WTO, said, “one of the most important ways to solve the worldwide sanitation problem is to talk about it. What we don’t discuss, we can’t improve.” Therefore, around the world on Monday,  various events is conducted to break down that barrier.

After all, social support for WTD is essential in breaking the taboo on discussing the toilet, a fundamental sanitation facility, by showing that the potty, besides being vital for daily life, can be a fun cause to strive for.

“Making sanitation accessible to everyone in the world -- no matter where they live or how much money they have -- could allow us to make great strides in reducing diarrheal disease in children and give them the start in life that they deserve,” Jack Sim added.

The World Health Organization finds that investing just $1 in improved sanitation yields an economic return of between $3 and $34 depending on which part of the world you are in.

As part of World Toilet Day, WTO is circulating a petition for the United Nations to “keep its promises” on improving sanitation and clean water – part of the UN’s eight Millennium Development Goals, which also include halving extreme poverty by 2015. The petition will be given to the UN during the 2013 Millennium Development Goals Summit in September 2013.People can participate in supporting the petition by clicking http://worldtoiletday.org/petition.php and sign the online petition.

It is crucialthat the international communities give greater attention to the sanitation gap. A serious shift in approach is needed to stop millions dying every year for lack of a toilet. Ending the global water and sanitation crisis is not an impossible dream; it is a joint endeavour that requires immediate action through collaboration and commitment.

Everyone in every country can lend a hand in their own way, from urging decision makers to look into the issue to building functioning toilets where these facilities are in dire need.

Your participationultimately saves lives. Get involved by downloading the campaign toolkit at www.worldtoiletday.org and participating in WTO’s and WTD’s social media channels. Spread the buzz by following @worldtoiletday on Twitter andhashtag #IgiveAShit on November 19.

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Useful Links:

World Toilet Organization website: http://worldtoilet.org/wto/

World Toilet Day website: http://worldtoiletday.org/

World Toilet Organization Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/WTO.org

World Toilet Day Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/WTDay

World Toilet Organization Twitter: http://twitter.com/worldtoilet

World Toilet Day Twitter: http://twitter.com/worldtoiletday

World Toilet Organization YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/OfficialWTO

World Toilet Day YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/officialWTD

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ABOUT WORLD TOILET ORGANIZATION

World Toilet Organization (WTO) is a global non-profit organization dedicated to improving the conditions of toilets and sanitation worldwide.We understand that it is not just about providing access to adequate, clean sanitation – it’s also about giving people back their dignity, providing comfort, improving lives and offering empowerment so that they can strive for brighter future.

We are one of the few organizations whose sole focus is on toilets. Unfortunately, unlike water, toilets do not get the same attention and resources needed – luckily our team likes nothing better than challenges.

We believe that through education, training and creating a sanitation marketplace, we can provide business opportunities, sanitation and clean toilets for all. Visit www.worldtoilet.org