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World Toilet Day (2013) commemoration
Chitungwiza Residents Trust (CHITREST)
November 23, 2013

Chitungwiza Residents Trust (CHITREST) joins the rest of the world to commemorate the inaugural World Toilet Day, a day set aside at the instigation of Singapore and co-sponsored at the United Nations General Assembly by 121 other member states.

Superficially, the idea looks not worthy attention but facts on the ground speak otherwise. According to the World Bank 2.5 million people the world over have no access to toilets which translates to 37% of the world population. Ironically, 6 million of the world population has access to cell phones.

The UN resolution seeks to address this global sanitation crisis which has been overlooked for years as people feel it is taboo to talk of this critical element of public health. It is not surprising among all the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) the sanitation goal is off mark in 80% of world countries.

Furthermore, the commemoration reminds governments, civic organizations and other key stakeholders to influence policies that increase access to proper sanitation. World statistics indicate that currently 2.5 billion people out of no choice resort to open air defecation which is extremely harmful and indeed a serious public health threat.

The obtaining reality is saddening as it is well known that poor sanitation is a major contributing factor to diarrhoeal diseases, which are the second leading cause of death in children under the age of 5 years.

Coming back home in Zimbabwe, CHITREST is worried by the health time bomb that is looming in Chitungwiza. We are aware of an area in St. Mary’s where residents have been using the bush system for more than 5 years. Most unserviced residential areas in our town do not have water and sewer connections. This has led residents to dig wells and construct Blair toilets. When this happens on a 200 m2 stand, the chances of the water table being polluted from the Blair toilet are very high, exposing residents to typhoid, cholera and other water-borne diseases.

In the period July 2012 to June 2013, Chitungwiza Town Council’s Health Services department had 692 cases of typhoid with 2 deaths. It is in this regard as we commemorate the World Toilet Day; we alert city fathers, council officials and other stakeholders that all is not well with our sanitation. We need to improve on sewer reticulation and water provision lest we slide back to the 2008 episode of typhoid and cholera outbreak.

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