November 19 is International World Toilet Day. While toilets seem like a strange thing to celebrate, their impact on human and environmental health cannot be overstated.  There are numerous places in the world where access to sanitation is not available, and open defecation remains a common occurrence. There are numerous consequences of open defecation ranging from the obvious impacts to health resulting from exposure to fecal bacteria, and contamination of drinking water sources and social consequences like making woman more vulnerable to violence and rape.

CWWA teamed with the Global Poverty Project to launch a campaign to end open defecation and bring universal sanitation to the global population.  Comedian Ron James joined us to launch the campaign. Watch for media coverage of the event and this important initiative.

Guest Blog: Why do we need a World Toilet Day?

By Clarissa Brocklehurst, Water and Sanitation Specialist

Toilets. We tend to shy away from talking about them, preferring, as polite Canadians, to talk about "washrooms" instead. We take them for granted here in Canada, and work instead on more general issues of wastewater management. But basic sanitation - often in the form of simple toilets such as pit latrines - is sadly lacking in many countries of the world. That’s why World Toilet Day is so important. (More...)