What do sanitation and school days have in connection? A lot. And one of which is the global sanitation problem that leads to 443 million missed school days.
I have this gut feeling that I am included in that count. I got too many “bathroom stories” which I will not splurge here in this blog post. That was too long ago. Let me skip that and focus on the major problem. (or if we are close already maybe we can have fun talking about it!)
According to a study conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO), children around the world miss an estimated 443 million school days each year because of diseases caused by poor sanitation and hygiene practices, including using unsanitary toilets. Simply put, this number of sick days is equivalent to all grade school and high school classrooms in the Philippines being empty for one month. This sanitation-related concern hinders the children’s learning and significantly reduces their quality of life.
Illnesses due to poor toilet sanitation include diarrhoeal disease and parasitic worm infections which can lead to nutritional deficiencies, physical and mental stunting, and death. Every day, millions of children in rural communities and urban households nationwide are exposed to these health problems by using dirty toilets populated by disease-carrying germs.
“A toilet that looks clean to the naked eye may not necessarily be free from germs and bacteria. So, it is very important to properly sanitize all surfaces using a germ-kill expert with proven efficacy in eliminating bacteria, and not just any ordinary laundry bleach,” Dr. Luisa Efren of the Philippine Public Health Association (PPHA) warned.
For the past three years, Unilever Philippines through its germ-kill expert brand Domex, has been working with UNICEF and PPHA to champion the One Million Clean Toilets Movement. This advocacy program aims to educate Filipinos on proper toilet hygiene and the need for sanitized household toilets to keep their families safe against disease-causing germs.
On November 13, World Toilet Day, join the One Million Clean Toilets Movement in the fight against disease causing germs to save lives, one clean toilet at a time. To learn more about Domex and how you can stay safe from disease with a germ-free home, visit Domex Philippines on Facebook.
