UN: 3.6 Billion People Live With Substandard Toilets

World Toilet Day was founded by the UN and is held every year on 19 November. The day is designed to remind everyone of the importance of overcoming the global sanitation crisis.

Roughly half the world's population lives with substandard toilets, according to the United Nations (UN).

“In a 2020 estimate, 3.6 billion people lacked safely managed sanitation services. The rate of sanitation coverage increase would need to quadruple to achieve universal access to safely managed services by 2030,” said Ann Thomas, Leader of Sanitation and Hygiene, WASH Program Division, UNICEF, at the UN Headquarters.

As noted, 1.7 billion people living on Earth do not even have basic sanitation services, including people from rural areas in the least developed countries.

"Safe sanitation protects ground water from contamination by human waste," the organization noted.

According to the UN, one of the important tasks which will bring sustainable development is "providing the whole world with safe toilets for everyone". The approximate deadline for achieving the plan is 2030.

World Toilet Day was made an official international day by the UN General Assembly in 2013. It is observed every 19 November and is designed to stimulate action to overcome the global sanitation crisis.