How we are helping address the global sanitation crisis

Blog 12/01/2017

How we are helping address the global sanitation crisis

Despite improvement, there is a pressing need to address water sanitation issues around the world. Today, there remain more than 4 billion people without access to a toilet or improved sanitation systems. As a leading toilet manufacturer, SANIFLO® understands the importance of sanitation and its lasting impact on health and living conditions. Since 2006, SANIFLO has been committed to global sanitation efforts, partnering with organizations like the World Toilet Organization (WTO), Wetlands Work! and the Hydraulics Without Borders Association to support development projects aimed at improving access to safe drinking water and sanitation facilities for people living in developing countries, such as Senegal, Togo and Cambodia.
In North America, we take toilets for granted. Referred to as the silent crisis, the topic of human waste is often considered “taboo,” but how can we address a global sanitation crisis if we’re afraid to talk about it? The fact is, many of the people living in these villages simply lack access to basic, clean and safe bathroom facilities. Hundreds of thousands die every year from diarrhoeal diseases caused by dirty water and poor sanitation. Many children miss school for days or weeks at a time due to sanitation-related illness. For young girls especially, the absence of proper bathroom facilities that provide feminine hygiene products as well as a safe environment is a significant concern.

Beyond public health and safety, it’s an issue of education. As well as providing financial support, SANIFLO strives to promote hygiene awareness and educate the local populations of these villages about the importance of plumbing and public health. Education initiatives include water treatment and proper handling of waste, such as composting, so it doesn’t enter the open environment or contaminate the community water supply.




Most recently, SANIFLO once again partnered with the Hydraulics Without Borders Association in recognition of World Toilet Day, to complete Phase II of a development project initiated in March 2015, to build a drinking water supply network and to improve access to toilets for 4,000 inhabitants of Diam-Diam in Senegal, West Africa. This project involved building a reservoir, a water distribution network with direct supply to villagers’ homes through integrated connections, and the construction of modern, family latrines and sanitation facilities. Thanks to this partnership, access to drinking water has been greatly facilitated, the drudgery of water chores reduced, and the sanitation of the whole village improved significantly.

World Toilet Day is important because it helps bring global attention to the sanitation crisis and inspire action to tackle these issues. This movement, and others like it, bring together governments, organizations and the public to work toward long-term sanitation solutions. SANIFLO is committed to helping make health facilities accessible to all, through humanitarian actions in support of World Toilet Day.

To learn more about SANIFLO, please visit saniflo.ca or follow @saniflocanada on Facebook!