The DBE has partnered with Unilever for the provision of sanitation facilities to Thethandaba Primary School in Llembe, KwaZulu-Natal Province. In observance of World Toilet Day, ablution facilities were handed over to teachers and learners on 18 November 2022, to ensure their dignity and access to safe sanitation.

World Toilet Day (WTD) on 19 November, held annually since 2013, raises awareness of the 3.6 billion global population without access to safely managed sanitation. Governments are, on this day, urged to act to address the global sanitation crisis and achieve Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6: Sanitation and Water for all by 2030.

During consultations with the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education earlier this year, the need for safe ablution facilities was flagged, and after consultation, technical meetings and oversight visits with the district office and the KZN Infrastructure Delivery Directorate, the facilities were redeemed safe for hand-over to the school.

Domestos explained that WTD is not just about how to install more toilets, but that the focus is on how to keep existing facilities maintained and operational. In addition, the DBE and Domestos are calling on all stakeholders to play their part, to ensure sanitation in schools and communities for better, safer and healthier sanitation for all. Domestos works at a global level with UNICEF on its Cleaner Toilets Brighter Futures’ School’s Programme. Over the past decade, Domestos has provided safe sanitation and instilled good hygiene practice, reaching over 7 million learners, with 1 million learners during 2022.

The 2022 campaign, under the theme, “Making the invisible visible”, explores how inadequate sanitation systems spread human waste into rivers, lakes and soil, polluting underground water resources. However, this problem seems to be invisible because it happens underground, and in the poorest and most marginalised communities. Groundwater is the world’s most abundant source of freshwater, supporting drinking water supplies; sanitation systems; farming; industry; and ecosystems. As climate change worsens and populations grow, the safe management of groundwater is vital for human survival.