Back in 2013, Ban Ki-moon said, “We must break the taboos.” These words were an allusion to the world’s sanitation crisis, which are sadly just as relevant today.
In 2013, the UN General Assembly officially designated November 19 as International Toilet Day.
Coordinated by UN-Water in collaboration with governments and partners, the day is an opportunity to raise awareness and inspire action to tackle the global sanitation crisis.
The topic is neglected and associated with taboo, but the fact is, we all need a toilet, regardless of gender, disability, status or anything else.
Access to clean water and sanitation is a human right, and therefore also among the Sustainable Development Goals launched by the UN in 2015.
The hummingbird is the symbol of World Toilet Day and World Water Day 2023.
I made my own hummingbird for the day:
In the ancient story, a hummingbird does what she can to fight a great fire. Carrying droplets of water in her beak. Her actions, even though small, are helping solve a huge problem.
Let’s hope the hummingbird and others are working diligently for better conditions.
Another Factor
The reason why I have chosen to focus on sanitation is because both on my many travels around the world, but also in my hometown for many years, I have come across either miserable or simply inaccessible toilets for wheelchair users, and I would like to see work done on that.
I’m indeed puzzled why I still find so many crappy toilets; so to speak.
There are toilets all over the world where wheelchair users don’t have a chance to use the toilet and have to search for a long time, perhaps up to hours before you can find a usable one. This is demeaning and just not right.
Unfortunately, I might add, in addition to the inaccessible toilets, I often encounter people who don’t understand the problem of inaccessibility. Of course, this is not a physical obstacle, but I do regret that there is so little understanding.
Fortunately, better legislation has been introduced in some countries.
According to the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, a survey of 100 restaurants in Copenhagen in 2004 showed that as a person in a wheelchair, there are not many places to choose from. Out of the 100 restaurants surveyed, there are nine where wheelchair users can enter, but only two that have a accessible toilets.
I’m convinced, or hope, that accessibility is better today, but I don’t actually know.
Insight and Visions 