443 Million Missed School Days Due To Global Toilet Sanitation Problem

/As a mom, I am very particular in making sure that the toilet is clean and germ-free because that’s the dirtiest part of the house. Did you know that there are 443 million school days being missed each year by children around the world because of diseases caused by poor sanitation and hygiene practices alone? And one of the reasons of that is unsanitary toilets! That’s according to the study conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO).  In the Philippines, this number of sick days is equivalent to all grade school and high school classrooms being empty for one month and that significantly hinders the children’s learning and significantly reduces their quality of life.

Every day, millions of children in rural communities and urban households nationwide are exposed to health problems like diarrheal disease and parasitic worm infections. These leads to nutritional deficiencies, physical and mental stunting, and even death.

According to Dr. Luisa Efren of the Philippine Public Health Association (PPHA), the simple act of proper toilet sanitation can help prevent the spread of these germs. However, children continue to be at risk from these deadly diseases because many households still use ordinary laundry bleach to clean their toilet bowls, which is not enough to kill all toilet germs.

“A toilet that looks clean to the naked eye may not necessarily be free from germs and bacteria. So, it is very important to properly sanitize all surfaces using a germ-kill expert with proven efficacy in eliminating bacteria, and not just any ordinary laundry bleach,” Dr. Efren warned.

For the past three years, Unilever Philippines through its germ-kill expert brand Domex, has been working with UNICEF and PPHA to champion the One Million Clean Toilets Movement. This advocacy program aims to educate Filipinos on proper toilet hygiene and the need for sanitized household toilets to keep their families safe against disease-causing germs.

On November 13, World Toilet Day, Join the One Million Clean Toilets Movement in the fight against disease causing germs to save lives, one clean toilet at a time.

To learn more about Domex and how you can stay safe from disease with a germ-free home, visit Domex Philippines on Facebook.