Approximately 40% of the world’s population does not have access to a toilet. SCA will be the only Swedish company to participate in the World Toilet Summit and Expo (WTSE) in Macau on November 4 to 6. WTSE's aim is to develop tangible action plans on how to improve sanitation.
The UN has designated 2008 as the “International Year of Sanitation.” According to the UN’s millennium target for sanitation, the goal is halve the number of people without access to toilets between 1990 and 2015.
“As one of the largest manufacturers of hygiene products in the world, we have human and business reasons to help call attention to the issue of hygiene,” says SCA President Jan Johansson.
As part of this commitment, SCA has sponsored and will participate in WTSE, which will be held in Macau from November 4 to 6. The summit will gather researchers, companies and trade associations from across the world to develop tangible solutions to the toilet issue.
Increased knowledge and awareness will provide the foundation for improved hygiene standards throughout the world. Earlier this year, SCA performed a global hygiene survey to raise the level of awareness about this topic. The results of the survey are available at www.sca.com.
Facts:
Approximately 2.6 billion people worldwide do not have access to toilets, which corresponds to 40% of the world’s population. Many of these people live in rural areas in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Children are affected most severely. Every day, about 5,000 children die from diarrhea-related illnesses as a result of poor hygiene. Most of these deaths could be avoided with the help of hygienic toilets, clean water and better hygiene practices, such as washing one’s hands before eating. According to WHO and FN calculations, every USD invested in sanitation generates USD 9 in return.
The World Toilet Organization, an umbrella organization for toilet organizations throughout the world, was founded in 2001 by Jack Sim of Singapore. The aim of the organization is to gather and spread information about toilets and sanitation. The WTO has 46 member countries, with some 100 organizations involved at various levels. A college has been started and a major conference known as WTSE is held every year in one of the member countries as a forum for discussions, demonstrations of technical and practical solutions, sharing positive examples and developing tangible action plans.