he toilet is the first part of sanitation. Despite the advancements made as a global society, one in three people still lack access to a toilet. United Nations observes the World Toilet Day on November 19 to inspire action to tackle the global sanitation crisis. Worldwide, 4.2 billion (40 percent) people live without safely managed sanitation. Around 673 million people practice open defecation.

The observation is also about taking action to tackle the global sanitation crisis and achieve Sustainable Development Goal 6: “water and sanitation for all by 2030.” This day aims to advocate for improved sanitation facilities, proper hygiene practices and the importance of sanitation in preventing diseases and promoting well-being. This year’s theme, Accelerating Change, is a worldwide public campaign that encourages action to tackle the global sanitation crisis.

Sustainable sanitation begins with a toilet that effectively captures human waste in a safe, accessible and dignified setting. Instead, many people use unreliable, inadequate toilets or practice open defecation that gets out into the environment and spreads deadly and chronic diseases. Sustainable sanitation systems, combined with the facilities and knowledge to practice good hygiene, are a strong defence against Covid-19 and future disease outbreaks.

Some 1,245,000 people in low- and middle-income countries die as a result of inadequate water, sanitation and hygiene each year, representing 89 percent of total water, sanitation and hygiene attributable deaths. Diarrhoea, a major killer, is largely preventable. Better water, sanitation and hygiene could have prevented 395,000 deaths of children under five in 2019.

Open defecation spreads a vicious cycle of disease and poverty. The countries where open defection is most widespread have the highest number of child deaths. The situation in urban areas, particularly in dense, low-income and informal spaces, is a growing challenge.

Poor sanitation is linked to transmission of diarrhoeal diseases such as cholera and dysentery, as well as typhoid, intestinal worm infections and polio. Nearly 1,000 children die every day from diarrhoeal disease linked to a lack of safe water, sanitation and basic hygiene.

Poor sanitation puts children at risk of childhood diseases and malnutrition that can impact their overall development, learning and, later in life, economic opportunities. While some parts of the world have improved access to sanitation, millions of children in poor and rural areas have been left behind.

In 2022, there were still 36 countries with open defecation rates between five and twenty-five percent. In 13 countries, more than one in four people still practice open defecation. Globally, India has the largest number of people, as per a UNICEF report, close to 594 million, which is 48 percent of the population, practicing open defecation. People practising open defecation in Pakistan were reported at 6.754 percent in 2022, according to the World Bank collection.

Poor sanitation is linked to transmission of diarrhoeal diseases such as cholera and dysentery, as well as typhoid, intestinal worm infections and polio. Nearly 1,000 children die every day from diarrhoeal disease linked to a lack of safe water, sanitation and basic hygiene.

Pakistan faces significant urban sanitation challenges that affect public health, economic productivity and environmental sustainability. According to the World Bank, approximately 40 percent of Pakistan’s population lives in urban areas. The flow from rural to urban is increasing with every passing day. This figure is expected to increase to 50 percent by 2030.

Almost all cities in Pakistan lack adequate sanitation infrastructure, resulting in a variety of problems, including poor hygiene, polluted water and disease outbreaks. One of the main causes of Pakistan’s urban sanitation problems is a lack of investment and adoption of technological solutions in infrastructure.

World Bank reports that 68 percent of Pakistanis are using at least basic sanitation services. Pakistan is among the top 10 countries globally in terms of worst sanitation. Seventy-nine million people in Pakistan do not have access to a proper toilet.

Pakistan is the seventh country in the world in terms of low access to basic sanitation facilities, with one in three schools in Pakistan lacking basic toilet provision.

The provision of water supply and sanitation facilities in Pakistan is not in proportion with the annual population growth rate.

The biggest challenge to proper sanitation is in big cities and towns with inadequate water supply, poor infrastructure, continued increase in population, urbanisation and climate change. To bridge the gaps in access to improved sanitation, significant financial resources, sustainable technological solutions that fit the context of each local area and political will are required.

Pakistan National Sanitation Policy, developed in 2006, is a cross-sectoral policy with the vision of creating an open defecation-free environment with safe disposal of liquid and solid waste and promoting health and hygiene practices in the country. The policy is targeted to meet the Millennium Development Goals. The policy appears to be an effective step to address the sanitation issues in the country, provided it is implemented in letter and spirit.

The UNICEF is working with the government of Pakistan to improve sanitation by doing things like encouraging people to wash their hands more often. They are also working with communities and school administrations to help build toilets for students. Building more toilets is also vital for empowering women and girls. Access to toilets can transform lives, deliver dignity, prevent disease spread and boost school attendance, particularly for girls.

The countdown for SDGs has begun. We must accelerate progress to ensure that everyone has access to safe toilets by 2030.

Providing these services is critical to people’s health and the integrity of the environment. There is a need to develop a culture of safe sanitation adoption. This is an achievable goal in a situation where more people in the world have access to mobile phones than toilets.

The writer is a playwright and freelance journalist. He can be reached at pashajaved1@gmail.com and his blogging site: soulandland.com