Civil Engineering nOVEMBER 2021 | Vol 29 No 10

Le t ter from the ed i tor Civil Engineering November 2021 9 O n 19 November every year the United Nations (UN) observes World Toilet Day in an effort to raise awareness and spur action towards tackling the global sanitation crisis and achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SGD) 6: water and sanitation for all by 2030. The event draws attention to the fact that toilets, and the sani- tation systems that support them, are underfunded, poorly man- aged, or neglected in many parts of the world. The result is devas- tating consequences for health, economics and the environment, particularly in the poorest and most marginalised communities. WHY YOU SHOULD CARE ABOUT TOILETS According to the UN, a safely managed sanitation service is defined as a toilet, not shared with other households, that either treats or disposes of human waste on site, stores it safely to be emptied and treated off-site, or connects to a functioning sewer. Unfortunately, billions of people only have access to basic, limited, or unimproved facilities, namely systems that do not safely dispose of human waste in situ or offsite. Worse still, 494 million people still practise open defecation. In addition to providing dignity, good sanitation plays a vital role in public health. Poor sanitation spreads deadly diseases by contaminating drinking-water sources, other water systems and food crops. Globally, at least 2 billion people use a drinking water source contaminated with faeces and more than 700 children under the age of five die every day from diarrhoea linked to unsafe water, sanitation and poor hygiene. In addition to their vital role in protecting public health and the environment, toilets also drive improvements in gender equality, education, and economics. This is because toilets protect women and girls’ dignity, safety and health, especially during menstruation and pregnancy. The UN states that, for every $1 invested in basic sanitation, up to $5 is returned in saved medical costs and increased productivity, and jobs are created along the entire service chain. SOUTH AFRICAN CONTEXT South Africa is dealing with its own sanitation crisis. According to the National Water and Sanitation Master Plan, 14.1 million South Africans do not have access to safe sanitation and 56% of wastewater treatment works are in a poor or critical condition. This is a major contributing factor to the declining state of the country’s water courses. Between 1999 and 2011 the extent of main rivers in South Africa classified as having a poor ecological condition increased by 500%, with some rivers pushed beyond the point of recovery. Despite promises by government to eradicate bucket toilets and provide dignity through sanitation, the country still has a long way to go in delivering what the UN terms safely managed sanitation services to all South Africans. ADDRESSING THE CRISIS The UN asserts that there will be no sustainable future without toilets, and that governments must work four times faster to ensure toilets for all by 2030. This requires urgent, massive investment and innovation to quadruple progress along the entire sanitation chain, from toilets to the transport, collection and treatment of human waste. Importantly, the public and private sectors need to work with unserved communities to create sus- tainable sanitation systems that work for them. To aid in the challenge, the UN has launched the SDG 6 Global Acceleration Framework – a new, unifying initiative that involves all sectors of society to speed up progress by improving support to countries. The aim is to drive progress through five accelerators: Q Q Optimised financing is essential to get resources behind country plans Q Q Data and information targets resources and measures progress Q Q Capacity development creates a better-skilled workforce, im- proves service levels and increases job creation and retention in the water sector Q Q Innovation in smart practices and technologies will improve water and sanitation resources management and service delivery Q Q Better governance and collaboration across boundaries and sectors will make SDG 6 everyone’s business. This World Toilet Day, let’s be reminded to care about toilets and focus on providing well-managed sanitation systems from start to finish, ensuring that we provide dignity, protect public health, and uplift our most marginalised communities. REFERENCES World Toilet Day website. Available: www.worldtoiletday.info . World Toilet Day 2021 Factsheet. Available: www.dropbox.com/s/67n1wilbo3vmzs0/ WTD2021_factsheet_ENG.pdf?dl=0 National Water and Sanitation Master Plan Volume 1: Call to action, Version 10.1. Available: www.gov.za/documents/ national-water-and-sanitation- master-plan-28-nov-2019-0000 . Danielle Petterson Editor: Civil Engineering danielle@saice.org.za Who cares about toilets? For those of us fortunate enough to having flushing toilets in our homes, the questions of “who cares about toilets?” may seem obtuse. But for the 3.6 billion people – nearly half of the world’s population – who don’t have access to a safely managed sanitation system, sanitation is a daily concern.