Cleanzine: your weekly cleaning and hygiene industry newsletter 18th April 2024 Issue no. 1110
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World Toilet Organisation and supporters issue joint declaration to mark World Toilet Day
The World Toilet Organisation, Lixil Group, Saraya and the Ana Blue Wing Program marked World Toilet Day (19th November) by issuing a joint declaration on sanitation and hygiene, outlining their joint commitment to support the realisation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6): Ensure access to water and sanitation for all.
Approximately 2.3 billion people around the world lack access to safe and sanitary toilets, of which around 892 million people are forced to practice open defecation. Every day, 800 children under five years of age, die from diarrheal diseases due to unclean water or poor sanitary conditions.
According to a survey conducted by Lixil and Oxford Economics, the economic impact of poor sanitation amounted to $223 billion annually as of 2015.
As part of the declaration, the four organisations said they believe that to realise SDG 6, affordable and sustainable innovations and solutions must be brought to market, and that Japan has an important role to play owing to its unique and advanced toilet culture. They will utilise their accumulated knowledge and expertise to promote activities aimed at resolving sanitation issues around the world.
Speaking at the Tokyo event, World Toilet Organisation founder and CEO, Jack Sim, said:
"Toilets are culture. With good toilet culture, behavior change will come. Japan has successfully exported many aspects of its culture to the world, for example manga, Japanese food, kaizen; now is the time for Japan's toilet culture.
"Today's declaration is the first step. We call upon others in Japan to join this movement. This will bring many benefits to those in the world who lack proper sanitation, and also enhance Japan's soft power."
Lixil Group executive officer and senior managing director, Jin Montesano, said: "At Lixil we believe that access to safe and hygienic sanitation is a basic human right, and that the knowledge and technologies exist to tackle this problem.
"We are committed to playing our part to bring innovative and sustainable solutions to market, such as the Sato range of affordable toilet products, and enhancing coordination with other Japanese stakeholders in line with today's declaration."
As a global leader in sanitaryware and water technology, Lixil Group has pledged to improve access to sanitation for 100 million people by 2020. To achieve this, the company has established a dedicated business called Social Sanitation Initiatives that is developing and bringing to market innovative technologies aimed at the base of the pyramid.
Among these is the Sato range of affordable toilet solutions, which are already trusted and used by more than six million people in over 15 countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
www.lixil.com / www.worldtoilet.org
23rd November 2017