A Clean Toilet: A Necessity Not a Desire for 4.5B People - Essay Sample

Introduction

Living in a clean and supportive environment is not a desire; it is a need. Among the most basic needs of man, there is to relieve himself in a neat toilet, which inspires cleanliness. The hygienic management of excrement is not just a desire for cleanliness; it is a necessity, a real need that must be taken into account to prevent the spread of many diseases. About 60% of the world's population - 4.5 billion people - do not have toilets at home or have toilets that do not allow for hygienic management of excreta. 892 million people around the world practice open defecation and are deprived of sanitation - feces are not collected or treated (World Toilet Organization, 2019). One school in five in the world does not have a toilet - a problem that gets worse for girls during the period of menstruation. 900 million schoolchildren around the world do not have facilities for hand washing, which promotes the spread of deadly diseases.

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Thesis Statement

The Toilet is one of the greatest inventions in the world and People cannot live without the toilet.

2.4 billion People do not have a toilet. Dysentery, typhoid, parasites, and other infections lead to hundreds of thousands of deaths every year, all because one in three people alive in 2017 do not have access to toilets and latrines. Nearly a billion people (13%of earth population) still defecate out in the open; in street gutters, open water, in the wood.

On November 19, it was designated by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 2013 as World Toilet Day. The toilet, something that many in the West use daily and take for granted, is essential to prevent deaths, improve health in hundreds of countries, and could even help economies prosper. Nearly 100 countries met in 2013 to make toilets and sanitation a priority for the UN. Why is it so important? In many parts of the world, a toilet is not an everyday object. According to United Nations data, it is estimated that 2,300 million people do not have access to a private and safe toilet, which is to say that they defecate in the open air or must use containers or latrines that allow the excrement to escape (Times of India, 2016). According to Water Aid, the lack of suitable sanitary conditions, and access to toilets affects areas as diverse as maternal and child health, neonatal mortality, gender equality, education, and economic development. In just one gram of human feces, there can be up to 10 million viruses. That means that when those feces are spread by the environment, even in small quantities, they can contaminate food and water, and cause diseases (Eco-Business, 2019). 2. 1 billion people in the world have to resort to what is known as "open defecation." These people must find fields, ditches, or even train tracks to be able to relieve themselves. It is estimated that 19% of health centers in low and middle-income countries, 53% of people in South Asia and 70% of people in sub-Saharan Africa and 46% of people in developing countries do not have toilets.

Every day 2,000 million tons of human feces are scattered around the planet. Due to the lack of proper toilets, this huge amount of potentially polluting waste reaches open roads, rivers, crops, and roads, among others, this makes it easier for infections and viruses to spread. According to the UN, one of the most common consequences of this is diarrhea caused by contaminated food, water, and environment, which is the second leading cause of death in children around the world (Global Citizen, 2013). In India, 774 million people are waiting for a toilet. This is according to the report of Water Aid, meaning that in the second most populated country in the world, there is the longest waiting line to enter the toilet (Times of India, 2016). If the 774 million people in India were to wait to use a toilet at home, the line would extend from Earth to the moon - and beyond. That line would take 5,892 years to finish, assuming that each person needs about four minutes to use the toilet. In developed countries, there are also problems with access to toilets. The first place for the worst access to toilets in developed countries is Russia, where 27.8% of its population cannot access safe and private toilets. In second place is Moldova (23.6% without access) and in third place Romania (20.9% without access).

A child dies every two minutes for lack of toilets. The effects of poor sanitary conditions are devastating, especially in children. It is estimated that 315,000 children under the age of five die every year from diarrhea caused by poor hygiene conditions. About 260,000 million dollars are lost each year due to preventable diseases caused by a lack of healthy conditions (Wald, 2016). If more were invested in sanitation, people and environments would be healthier, and economies struggling to emerge could have a better workforce. Also, according to a Water Aid report, the lack of clean toilets or the absence of them prevents many girls from continuing their studies once they have reached puberty (Lancet, 2007). When schools offer decent toilets, girls' attendance is increased by 11%. Besides, when women have access to private toilets, they are less vulnerable to being robbed.

The disadvantages of a toilet vary depending on the perspective of a person. A toilet may be disadvantageous if it is not well maintained in public places (Wald, 2016). It might cause the spread of diseases such as skin disease.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the daily life of a human being directly depends on the use of toilets. Basing on the advantages and disadvantages it is clear for the life of a human being there must be at least a toilet for him or her to be able to release the waste created during the digestion process. One last piece of information for reflection: in the world, there are more people with a mobile phone than with access to a toilet. What is normal and every day in a developed country ceases to be so in many cases in developing countries. Ending outdoor defecation, which is still practiced by more than 1 billion people in the world, would save many lives, especially of children under the age of five affected by diseases transmitted by vectors of fecal contamination.

References

Eco-Business (2019). 10 reasons we should care about toilets. Retrieved from https://www.eco-business.com/opinion/10-reasons-we-should-care-about-toilets/ on 22nd June 2019.

Global Citizen (2013). Why are toilets so important? Retrieved from https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/why-are-toilets-so-important/ on 22nd June 2019.

Lancet, T. (2007). Access to Toilets for All. Elsevier BV, 370 (9599), pp. 1590, doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(07)61665-1.

Times of India. (2016). Facts about toilets and their importance. Retrieved from https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Facts-about-toilets-and-its-importance/edushow/51614759.cms on 22nd June 2019.

Wald, C. (2016). The Secret History Of Ancient Toilets. Nature, 533 (7604), pp. 456-458. Springer Science And Business Media LLC, doi:10.1038/533456a.

World Toilet Organization (2019). Why Toilets? Retrieved from http://worldtoilet.org/what-we-do/why-toilets/ on 22nd June 2019.