Decent toilets, clean water and sanitation are the foundation of the wellbeing of community health

Access to decent toilets and clean, safe water is what every human being needs to keep infectious diseases at bay.

These services play a significant role in building a robust economy, as their absence in workplaces, educational institutions, and households severely reduces productivity.

To highlight the importance of sanitation, November 19 is slated for annual observance of the World Toilet Day. This day reminds of the world that proper sanitation and clean water ser­vices can greatly influence economic growth.

This official United Nations (UN) day is marked to inspire actions to address global sanitation challenges. According to the UN, 3.5 billion people still live without safely managed sanita­tion, including 419 million who practice open defecation. In Tanzania, the 2022 Demographic and Health Survey and Malaria Indicator Survey (TDHS-MIS) reveals that 18.1 percent of households have poor sanitation infrastructure, while 9.7 percent practice open defe­cation.

This means they relieve themselves in areas without toilets, such as bushes, farms, or other informal spaces. The lack of proper sanitation services sig­nificantly impacts community health, increasing water- and hygiene-relat­ed diseases such as diarrhea, parasitic infections, and skin diseases.

In Tanzania, the World Toilet Day is commemorated by the government and various stakeholders through awareness campaigns in the media, conferences, and social media to emphasize the importance of these ser­vices to communities.

Stakeholders such as WaterAid have collaborated with the government to ensure communities have access to decent toilets and safe water.

One of WaterAid’s primary interven­tion is to provide sustainable Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) ser­vices through education and promoting hygienic practices.

This includes encouraging health­care workers to wash their hands after assisting patients, ensuring students have access to clean drinking water and handwashing facilities, and providing communities with clean water such as for cooking and drinking.

WaterAid Tanzania also invests in constructing improved toilets, rec­ognizing that access to decent toilets is crucial for community health and peace, which fosters development by preventing preventable diseases.

This is evident through the “Effec­tiveness of Hygiene Behavior in Schools and Health Care Facilities” project implemented by the organization in Kisarawe District, Pwani Region, and WASH Services for Improved Quality of Healthcare Facilities in Hanang Dis­trict Hanang District, Manyara Region.

The projects involved constructing and renovating toilets in schools, health care facilities, and installation of rain­water harvesting systems, and hand­washing stations. It has significantly transformed the hygiene practices of communities in these areas.

In Kisarawe District, the project has revolutionized public behavior and reduced diseases such as cholera and diarrhea linked to unimproved toilets and unsafe water.

Kisarawe District Health Officer and project coordinator Kalist Bush­ui, explains that the initiative included behavioral change programs and con­struction and renovation of school and health center toilets.

“In Kisarawe, the project was imple­mented in 30 primary schools and 15 health care facilities, including hos­pitals and dispensaries,” Mr. Bushui revealed.

With the schools, the project suc­cessfully built and renovated toilets, rainwater harvesting systems, water storage tanks, clean water systems for drinking and handwashing, cleaning tools, handwashing soap, waste dispos­al equipment, special rooms for girls during menstruation, and established health clubs in schools.

At health care facilities, the project built and renovated toilets, rainwa­ter harvesting systems, water storage tanks, and clean water systems for drinking and handwashing. It also sup­plied cleaning tools, handwashing soap, and waste disposal equipment.

Kazimzumbwi Primary School Headmaster Christian Sinkonde notes that the project has significantly reduced health challenges, absentee­ism, and improved academic perfor­mance.

“Before the project, sanitation, espe­cially toilets, was poor, but things have changed as now we have decent toilets, sufficient water, modern handwash­ing facilities, and infrastructure that support female students during men­struation, including a special changing room, sanitary pads, water, and soap,” says Sinkonde.

He adds that these improvements have reduced diseases and ensured reg­ular attendance, boosting the school’s performance, making it the leading school in the ward and ranking among the top 20 in the district.

Hanang District Health Officer Reu­ben Mangare says the project came at the right time when the district was recovering from last year’s mudslide disaster.

“This project has helped improve sanitation and water infrastructure in Laganga and Bashang dispensaries by building toilets for patients and staff, installing water tanks, providing waste incinerators, special pits for medical waste such as placentas after childbirth, renovating theatres, and constructing ash pits for burnt waste,” said Mangare.

Bashang Dispensary Medical Officer Jabai Qamara expresses gratitude for the project, noting its significant impact on the facility.

“This project provided us with improved toilets, including those for people with special needs (disabled individuals), water treatment systems for clean drinking water, rainwater har­vesting systems, a 60,000-liter tank, and water infrastructure for handwashing with soap,” concluded Mr Qamara.

On this World Toilet Day 2024, there is an urgent need for the Gov­ernment of Tanzania and donors to prioritize investments in sustainable WASH infrastructure, particularly in underserved communities, to ensure that sanitation and water services are resilient, efficient, universally accessi­ble, and protected from harm. Access to clean, safe sanitation is a fundamen­tal right that must be guaranteed to improve public health, promote digni­ty, and advance gender equity for all.