NEW DELHI: As India celebrated the World Toilet Day on November 19, UNICEF claims India has 88% schools with separate toilets for girls in 2012-13, up from 37% in 2005-06 even as the ongoing Swachh Vidyalaya campaign encourages hand washing before the midday meal in all schools.
However, functionality of girls’ toilets remains a major challenge with about 25% of schools still have non-functional toilets. Adequate water, sanitation and hygiene facilities can prevent disease and school absenteeism. Child rights activists are working towards the goal of #EVERYchild in #India have access to improved sanitation facilities in schools.
A super-sized cake, shaped like a toilet and weighing more than 1500 lbs, was unveiled in Delhi as part of celebrations nationwide to raise awareness on sanitation. Highlighting sanitation is a global priority with focus on equality and dignity. Open defecation compromises women’s dignity and can put their safety at risk. Young girls often forgo education because schools lack private toilets, putting them in uncomfortable situations, particularly during menstruation.
A community-led sanitation campaign in Rajasthan has helped reduce open defecation by focusing on pride and dignity, and engaging directly with women, as per a report of World Bank.
WaterAid says about 500,000 children die every year due to diarrhoea, caused by lack of safe water, sanitation and hygiene. While 277,794 of them are from Africa, 181,155 are from the South Asian nations. For the 2.5 billion people around the world who struggle for clean sanitation, toilets are a matter of life and death.
