About:
- It is an official United Nations international observance day on 19 November to spread awareness about the global sanitation crisis.
- Objective: To reach, SDG #6 i.e. to reach everyone with sanitation, and halve the proportion of untreated wastewater and increase recycling and safe reuse.
- History: It was established by the World Toilet Organization in 2001. Twelve years later, the UN General Assembly declared World Toilet Day an official UN day in 2013.
- Convener: UN-Water is the official convener of World Toilet Day.
- How is it observed? World Toilet Day is marked by educational campaigns and other activities. Events are planned by UN-Water, local civil society organizations and volunteers.
2018 Theme: When Nature Calls
- This year’s campaign emphasises on sanitation systems that work in harmony with our environment.
- Nature-based sanitation solutions (NBS) harness the power of ecosystems to help treat human waste before it returns to the environment.
- For instance:
- Composting latrines that capture and treat human waste on site, producing a free supply of fertiliser to help grow crops.
- Human-made wetlands and reed-beds filter waste water before it is released back into water courses.
Celebrations in India on World Toilet Day
- Swachh Bharat World Toilet Day Contest 2018 is being organized among all districts by organizing grassroots activities involving district, block and panchayat level teams, swachhagrahis and swachhata champions.
- Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation is receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award at the World Toilet Summit in Mumbai in recognition to the work done by the Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen).
