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Dear SuSanA members and friends,
Despite many efforts to improve access to safe sanitation for all, we are facing a global sanitation crisis. Today, 3.6 billion people are still living with poor quality toilets that are detrimental to their health and pollute their environment. Every day, more than 800 children die from diarrhoea due to unsafe water, sanitation, and poor hygiene.
This year, World Toilet Day focuses on the impact of the sanitation crisis on groundwater. Inadequate sanitation systems spread human waste into rivers, lakes and soil, polluting the water resources under our feet. However, this problem seems to be invisible to most of us. Invisible because it happens underground. Invisible because it happens in the poorest and most marginalized communities.
Groundwater is our most abundant source of freshwater. It supports our drinking water supplies, sanitation systems, farming, industry, and ecosystems. As climate change worsens and populations grow, groundwater supply is vital for our survival.
Safely managed sanitation protects groundwater from human waste pollution. Sustainable Development Goal 6.2 is the world’s promise to ensure safe toilets for all by 2030. This means everyone having access to a toilet connected to a sanitation system that effectively removes and treats human waste. However, we are seriously off track to meet this target.
We must work around four times faster to ensure everyone has a safe toilet by 2030. The connection between sanitation and groundwater cannot be overlooked. Time is running out - we must make the invisible visible.
As the SuSanA network, let's work together and jointly make this happen! Don’t forget to register for the next SuSanA webinar organised by the WG 5 on the occasion of World Toilet Day. More information can be found in the news mail below.
In preparation for World Toilet Day, we have put together some news items from the network. Enjoy exploring!
Yours sincerely,
Arne, Alexandra, Maren, Teresa, Daphne, and Megan
on behalf of the SuSanA Secretariat
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