World Toilet Day, observed annually on 19 November by the United Nations, highlights the global sanitation crisis and the urgent need for safe toilets for everyone. In Africa, around 779 million people lack basic sanitation services, and 208 million still practice open defecation. The day serves to bring attention to the importance of sanitation and its impact on health, dignity, and development across the continent.
Mtchera Johannes Chirwa, African Development Bank Group Director for Water Development and Sanitation, emphasizes that sanitation solutions affect multiple aspects of daily life. The 2025 theme, “Sanitation for a Changing World,” reflects the pressures of rapid urbanization, population growth, and climate change on sanitation systems. Unsafe sanitation contributes to the spread of diseases like cholera and typhoid, while safe, inclusive toilets protect public health, improve school attendance, particularly for young women during menstruation, and create opportunities to reuse sewage sludge in agriculture, enhancing food production.
Sanitation has often been overlooked in Africa’s water development agenda, with investments primarily focused on drinking water. Millions of Africans, especially in informal urban settlements, still lack hygienic toilets. The African Development Bank’s Water Development and Sanitation Department (AHWS) has addressed this gap, delivering improved sanitation to 33 million people over the past decade. In Angola, the Bank’s Urban Water Supply and Sanitation project provided demonstration latrines in vulnerable communities, inspiring local residents to construct additional facilities. Sustained progress requires a cultural and institutional shift recognizing sanitation as essential to health, human development, and economic resilience.
Recycling wastewater can provide environmental, economic, and social benefits while supporting food security. Treated wastewater can irrigate crops in arid regions, and sludge can serve as fertilizer. The African Development Bank has supported projects like Egypt’s Abu Rawash Wastewater Treatment Plant, which treats 1.6 million cubic meters of wastewater daily to provide water and fertilizer for agriculture, helping farmers grow crops such as wheat, barley, maize, and sunflower.
To expand urban sanitation, the African Water Facility recently launched a dedicated sanitation financing window to reach residents not served by conventional sewer systems. The African Urban Sanitation Investment Initiative promotes city-wide inclusive sanitation, focusing on the full service chain from containment and transport to treatment and safe reuse. Over the next ten years, the initiative aims to provide 15 million people with safely managed sanitation services and attract $7 billion in additional investments.
Community engagement and innovation are crucial for rural sanitation success. In Western Zambia, the Transforming Rural Livelihoods project recruited local “community champions” to encourage safer latrine use. Innovation, such as biodegradable woven baskets to reinforce pit latrines, has prevented collapses and reduced water-borne diseases. Programs like this combine technical support, grants, and real-time monitoring, demonstrating how local leadership and African innovation can drive sustainable sanitation solutions. World Toilet Day calls on governments, communities, and global partners to invest in long-term, impactful sanitation systems that are sustainable, economically viable, and adaptable to a changing world.
