Libreville, December 1, 2023 (AGP) – As part of the celebration of International Toilet Day, commemorated on November 19 each year, the association “Djondo Clean” and the Gabonese Consumer Organization (OGC) have held, on Thursday, November 30, 2023, in Libreville, a press conference with the theme: “Accelerating change”, noted an AGP journalist.
On the occasion of the delayed celebration of International Toilet Day, the director of the Institute of Public Hygiene and Sanitation (IHPA), Colette Iloungou-Maganga Nziengui recalled that toilets “transform lives”, preserving dignity, increasing school attendance, particularly of girls, and improving health and nutrition by preventing the spread of disease.
«To date, Gabon has a significant infrastructure deficit in the hygiene and sanitation sector. Such a situation has serious implications for public health and environmental integrity. For women and girls, in particular, toilets at home, school and work help them realize their potential and play their full role in society “, declared Colette Iloungou.
The director of the IHPA also invited citizens to take measures to accelerate change, to have improved toilets, as well as a hand washing system, in order to preserve their health.
In a circumstantial message, Ibrahim Tsendjiet Mboulou, president of the Consumer Protection Network of Gabon (RPCG) notes that the world is progressing little by little in terms of ensuring sanitation services for all and achieving one of the sustainable development goals.
Time is running out, but huge gaps remain: billions of people are deprived of safe sanitation services. “Time is running out: to achieve the 2030 goals, we need to act five times faster “, he said.
« This World Toilet Day is about the need to accelerate sanitation action to advance all goals. The world must respond urgently to this call. We need a massive, widespread injection of funds to get the goals back on track“, he added.
Having safe toilets is a human right. This year, the hummingbird is the symbol of World Toilet Day and World Water Day due to a legend, according to which, it helped put out a large fire by carrying drops of water in its beak. It is a powerful symbol of an action, however small, taken to tackle a big problem.
This event ended with a visit to the toilets in a Librev establishmentille.
RNA/CBO/FSS
