OAU PEEPS MARKS WORLD TOILET DAY

*World Toilet Day: We Give A Shit*

Upon first coming across the idea that there is a day dedicated to toilets, two emotions tend to first come to mind; humour and disgust. However, upon a closer assessment of the ideals upon which the day was established and adopted by the United Nations, the idea of a day to advocate for better access to good toilets might not be a bad idea afterall.

In 2015, it was estimated that about 2.4 billion (about 1 out of 3 people) lack access to improved sanitation facilities, and under 1 billion people continue to defecate openly. And about 58% of all cases of diarrhea are caused from unsafe water and poor sanitation and hygiene (which includes poor handwashing behaviors).

This means that in 2013, more than 340,000 children under 5 died from water, sanitation and hygiene related diarrhea – i.e. nearly 1,000 child deaths a day. Having to defecate in the open also infringes on human safety and dignity.

Locally, members of the Obafemi Awolowo University Community would agree that the access to good toilets in the University are sub-optimal. Toilets in the Halls of Residence are grossly misused by students and under-maintained by the appropriate authorities. However, things seem to be improving with the new management of the University but the poor use of the toilets from the students end persists.

The scenario is even worse in the academic environment of the University: Apart from the College of Health Sciences, Faculty of Administration, Faculty of Pharmacy and a few others, other faculty and departmental toilets are almost always locked.

The theme of this year’s World Toilet Day is _"toilets and jobs"._ And in observation of the worldwide advocacy, OAU Peeps News Agency, with the support of some other organisations would be assessing the toilet conditions on campus and advocating for an improved access and use of toilets, especially in the academic area of the university. You can join the discussion on any of our social media platforms;

*Twitter and Instagram*- @oaupeeps
*Facebook*- OAU Peeps
Happy World Toilet Day!

*Ojelabi Jesujoba*
*For The OAU Peeps Team*