November 19 is World Toilet Day

I saw a flyer in the restroom at work yesterday that today was World Toilet Day. I thought "is this a real day? If so, I should be observing it on my blog." It turns out that it is. Watch Global News ask and answer What is World Toilet Day?

Every year over 500,000 children under the age of five die due to inadequate sanitation. A significant amount of those deaths would be prevented if toilets, safe drinking water, adequate sanitation and hygiene were accessible. Every year on November 19, the United Nations celebrates World Toilet Day to raise awareness for the sanitation crisis across the world.

This is one of the points I make when I lecture about urban poverty in the developing world; there aren't enough toilets for everyone, making slums even more unlivable. Increasing access to toilets would improve everyone's lives there. To paraphrase one of Commoner's Laws, not only must everything go somewhere, everyone must go somewhere, too. It should be someplace safe and clean.