Everyone deserves a safe toilet and dignified sanitation

IT IS HEARTBREAKING to note that there are still people who don't have a proper place to relieve themselves when nature calls in this age.

- THEMBA KHOZA

THE government must fast-track the removal of all remaining bucket toilets and restore the health and dignity of people, says the writer.

(BONGIWE MCHUNU African News Agency (ANA) Archives)

The fact that billions of people in the whole world do not have proper, safe, and dignified toilets is a disgrace to humanity, especially as proper sanitation gives people dignity.

Proper sanitation is not only a dignity issue but a matter of health and safety. Sanitation is a matter of human dignity and human rights, but some people are still dehumanised with the lack of proper and safe toilets while others have to endure the hardships of using undignified bucket toilets.

The government in all spheres, from national, provincial and all the way to local, must work together with communities to restore human dignity by ensuring everyone has access to a proper, safe, and dignified toilet.

The private sector and institutions of learning must also come to the party with alternative innovative sanitation solutions to ensure access to everyone.

On November 19 annually, South Africans join the world in observing World Toilet Day, which is an international day dedicated to raising awareness about the global sanitation crisis and the importance of access to clean and safe toilets for human dignity, health and well-being.

World Toilet Day serves as an annual reminder that sanitation is fundamental to health, dignity and social equality. The theme for World Toilet Day 2025 is “Sanitation in a changing world” with the tagline: “We'll always need the toilet”.