World Toilet Day to raise awareness about the global sanitation crisis

On November 19, PATH is joining organizations from all around the globe in marking World Toilet Day 2010 to raise awareness about the global sanitation crisis, which has a staggering impact on child mortality and lifelong morbidity. Diarrheal disease remains the second-leading killer of children under five years of age worldwide, and unsafe water and poor sanitation directly contribute to the disease burden. Newly published data in the Public Library of Science reinforce the need to raise awareness around the issue, underscoring the necessity of prioritizing safe water, sanitation, and hygiene in the development agenda.

To help garner added visibility for sanitation solutions, PATH is co-sponsoring a screening and discussion of the documentary “World’s Toilet Crisis” in Washington, DC. A first screening in late October, also co-sponsored by PATH, was met by enthusiasm and dynamic discussion. Also in DC, PATH staff member Hope Randall will present “The scoop on poop: the deadly impact of diarrheal disease and the solutions to defeat it” at Nerd Nite DC. In Issaquah, WA—just outside Seattle—we will line up to meet Super Toilet at an event co-sponsored by WaterAid America and the King County Library System aimed at educating children and their families about sanitation in the developing world. PATH will also be spreading the word about World Toilet Day through Twitter and Facebook. 

• PATH’s work in diarrheal disease control
• World Toilet Day website
• “Hygiene, sanitation, and water: forgotten foundations of health,” Public Library of Science
• “World’s Toilet Crisis” screening and reception
• Nerd Nite DC
• Meet Super Toilet!
• PATH’s DefeatDD.org website
• DefeatDD on Twitter
• PATH’s Facebook page

Posted November 18, 2010.