World Toilet Day, on 19 November, is a day to help 2.4 billion people around the world who are living without a toilet. On this day an effort is made to raise awareness so that people will take action to solve the global sanitation crisis and this topic is often not taken up seriously by the authorities. The theme of World Toilet Day 2016 is ‘toilets and jobs’ which focuses on how people can improve their lifestyle by working on sanitation.

According to the survey conducted by WHO/UNICEF, one in ten people have no choice but to defecate in the open. World Toilet Day is a campaign to motivate and teach millions around the world the importance of a healthy lifestyle. The spread of many diseases for example diarrhea and malnutrition in children is directly related to exposure to human feces.

Diseases such as malaria, cholera, typhoid and tuberculosis, which annually kills over 40,000 children in Pakistan alone is an alarming issue which proves the pressing need of awareness among the masses in Pakistan on sanitation. Seminars should be conducted in various cities of Pakistan and media should play its role in it also funds should be collected and help should be given to poor so that they too would enjoy a healthy lifestyle.

Heshma Ejaz
Rawalpindi