Deputy Secretary-General Asks Governments to Quadruple Action on ‘Neglected But Essential Issue’ of Sanitation, Marking World Toilet Day

Following is the text of UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed’s video message to the event “Sanitation for All: World Toilet Day”, hosted by the Permanent Mission of Singapore to the United Nations and co-hosted by the Permanent Missions of India and Nigeria, in New York today:

At the current rate of progress, sanitation for all will become a reality sometime in the twenty-second century.

So today, on World Toilet Day, we are calling on Governments to accelerate their efforts on sanitation — to quadruple the rate of progress.

Achieving Sustainable Development Goal 6 [on access to clean water and sanitation for all] means providing basic toilets for nearly 1.7 billion people, and waste collection and treatment services for more than twice that number.

Poor sanitation ruins lives.  It puts more than 4 billion people at risk and burdens health systems with preventable illnesses.

It takes children from school, denying them education and opportunities that can affect their whole lives.  It compromises the safety and dignity of millions of people.

But — unlike many of the complex challenges we face — this is a problem that can be solved.  And every dollar invested in sanitation delivers fivefold in economic benefits.

Achieving universal access to clean water and sanitation may seem expensive, but the cost of inaction is far greater.

What is missing is bold action and leadership.  History shows it can be done.

Singapore — one of our hosts today — transformed sanitation within a generation.  India and Nigeria have also shown the power of Government leadership to make rapid progress on this neglected but essential issue.

The United Nations system is committed to working in solidarity with Governments under the Sustainable Development Goal 6 Global Acceleration Framework to galvanize action on sanitation.

The State of the World’s Sanitation report sets out a clear path for progress on governance, financing, capacity development, data and innovation.

With strong public investment and leadership, together we can make sanitation for all a reality by 2030.