Safe sanitation is fundamental to human health and dignity. In every community, a toilet protects people from disease, safeguards our environment, and underpins social and economic development.
Yet today, 3.4 billion people still live without a safe toilet. Each year, 1.4 million people die due to inadequate access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH). Diarrhoeal disease account for over two-thirds of the total WASH-attributable burden, with over one million deaths. And every day, around 1000 children under five die from diseases linked to unsafe WASH [1]. This is a preventable tragedy—and a solvable one.
Climate change is intensifying the challenge. Floods and droughts damage sanitation systems, contaminate water sources, and disrupt vital access—placing the most vulnerable at highest risk. Building resilient services is therefore a public-health imperative and a pathway to adaptation.
We know what works. Sustainable public investment, strong and accountable management, and reliable data help countries expand access, improve quality, and save lives. Health systems—especially health facilities—must have safe water, sanitation and hygiene to protect patients and health workers and to reduce infections, sepsis and antimicrobial resistance.
Sanitation is a human right. Making toilets resilient, accessible and affordable for all—women and men, children, people with disabilities, and those in fragile settings—is not only smart policy; it is a moral obligation. When countries act with long-term planning, cross-sector collaboration, and accountability, the health, economic and equity benefits are profound.
On this World Toilet Day, let us commit to accelerating progress: investing in toilets fit for the future, and ensuring that every person, in every place, can count on safe sanitation. Together, we can prevent disease, protect our planet, and promote dignity for all.
— Dr Rüdiger Krech, Director a.i., Department of Environment, Climate Change, One Health & Migration, World Health Organization
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[1] Burden of disease attributable to unsafe drinking-water, sanitation and hygiene, 2019 update. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2023. Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO.