Development – World Toilet Day (19 November 2018)
Since 2010, when the UN General Assembly recognized access to drinkable water and sanitation as a fundamental right, the international community has been working to ensure the availability of toilets, an important sustainable development goal for the 2030 Agenda.
France is also working to make healthy affordable drinking water and sanitation accessible to all. At the request of the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, in 2017 the French Development Agency approved €1.2 billion in funding for the water and sanitation sector in foreign countries – twice the amount approved in 2014.
In the coming months, France will present its international strategy for water and sanitation. Spearheaded by the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, it is being developed transparently and inclusively with all French actors involved in the water sector.
Worldwide, some 1.8 billion people use water sources that are contaminated by fecal matter, and a thousand children die each day of diseases that are easily preventable by improving sanitation and hygiene. In developing countries, 80% of waste water is released directly into oceans or rivers without being treated.