Water and Sanitation on World Toilet Day 

World Toilet Day is celebrated every year on the 19 November. It is a campaign that reminds all governments of the world to prioritize sanitation to ensure that all people in the world have access to safe and dignified sanitation by 2030 in line with the National Development Plan (NDP). The campaign also highlights the effects of lack or poor sanitation on people, communities and the world at large.

All people must have access to sustainable sanitation with handwashing facilities to protect themselves from deadly infectious diseases such as cholera and typhoid, and more recently, the fight against COVID-19.

In South Africa, significant progress has been made in addressing the sanitation backlog and providing appropriate sanitation to poor households in the country since 1994. According to the STATS–SA General Households Survey 2019 report, nationally, the percentage of households with access to improved sanitation increased from 61,7% in 2002 to 83,0% in 2018.

Under the theme - Sustainable Sanitation and Climate Change – the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) in collaboration with the Water Research Commission (WRC) will have a webinar with sanitation experts to discuss sustainable sanitation systems, focusing on safely managed human excreta across the whole value chain, from the toilet structure, to treatment, discharge and reuse. The discussions will be taking place in the backdrop of the now evident effects of climate change including floods, drought and rising sea levels.

In the Northern Cape, a number of education and awareness campaigns are scheduled on operation and maintenance of toilet facilities and the importance of washing hands with water and soap every time after using the toilet to protect oneself from infectious diseases.

Some of the identified municipalities for the campaigns include Sol Plaatjie, Siyacuma, Thembelihle, Dawid Kruiper, Ga-Segonyana and Umsobomvu.

For more information, contact:
Sputnik Ratau
Spokesperson for the Department of Water and Sanitation
Cell: 082 874 2942

Amogelang Moholoeng
Cell: 082 653 1682

More on

Share this page

Similar categories to explore