BACKGROUND

South African government is seized with its commitment to meet Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), goal 6.2 on sanitation and hygiene. This particular goal states that by 2030, access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all much be achieved. This includes an end to open defecation, paying special attention to the needs of women and girls and those in vulnerable situations.

It is for this reason the Department of Water and Sanitation will embark on a month long Sanitation Month. This campaign will be inline with global commemorations such as Global Handwashing Day (15 October) and World Toilet Day (19 November).

The Global Handwashing Day is celebrated annually across the globe on 15 October. This year’s theme, “Clean hands, a recipe for health”, encourages people to wash hands with soap and is meant to inspire all our partners, including the media, to spread the gospel of washing hands with soap. Handwashing with soap remains the most simple and powerful hygiene practice to curb the spread of diseases and or viruses that causes diseases that kills people in the country and across the globe.

On the other hand, World Toilet Day is celebrated on the 19 November to inspire action to tackle the global sanitation crisis and emphasis is put on sanitation across the entire value chain.