On Monday, South Africa joined the rest of the world to observe World Toilet Day to raise awareness about the lack of proper sanitation to 2.5 billion people worldwide.
This year, this international day was observed under the theme “When nature calls”, to focus on nature-based sanitation solutions.
In 2013, the UN announced that November 19 each year should be dedicated to stimulate dialogue and draw attention to global sanitation challenges.
The UN also said this was a means to encourage action from governments to recommit themselves to curb the plight of those without proper sanitation.
The provision of decent sanitation means that communities no longer have to walk a long distance to access sanitation.
The government of South Africa has made significant strides in ensuring that the previously disadvantaged communities who were at the receiving end of neglect by the previous regime get proper and dignified sanitation.
The achievements include the eradication of the massive bucket toilet backlog.
While we acknowledge progress made, there is also a need to acknowledge that there is still a lot to be done in order to attain universal access to this basic service.
There is need to acknowledge the various challenges the government faces in its pursuit of such universal access. These include availability of water to support bulk services, unfavourable topography and a lack of understanding and acceptance of alternative sanitation solutions (other than the flushing toilet).
Vandalism of toilet and supporting infrastructure also remains a significant challenge.
Sadly, damage to infrastructure meant to help communities undermines any gains made by the government.
In the light of World Toilet Day, we encourage different players to play integral roles in curbing vandalism by employing the following measures:
Communities must refrain from depositing foreign objects (newspapers, stones, etc) into the toilets.
The Chamber of Business can lend a helping hand by encouraging industries (scrapyards) to refrain from buying stolen toilet infrastructure.
Communities are urged to report incidents of vandalism to the local authorities.
Awareness and education remain key interventions to curb vandalism and the theft of infrastructure.
As part of disseminating information about health and hygiene, Western Cape Department of Water and Sanitation officials are visiting schools to create awareness.
“Water is Life, Sanitation is Dignity.”