This year’s theme focuses on how sanitation, or the lack of it, can impact on livelihoods. Toilets play a crucial role in creating a strong economy, as well as improving health and protecting people’s safety and dignity, particularly women’s and girls’.

A lack of toilets at work and at home has severe impacts upon businesses through problems in the workforce: poor health, absenteeism, attrition, reduced concentration, exhaustion, and decreased productivity. Loss of productivity due to illnesses caused by lack of sanitation and poor hygiene practices is estimated to cost many countries up to 5% of GDP.

Investing in good toilets in workplaces and schools so that women and girls have clean, separate facilities to maintain their dignity, and to manage menstruation or pregnancy safely, can boost what is often referred to as the ‘girl effect’: maximising the involvement of half the population in society. Read more about the theme here.

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Workplaces represent a major focus in the life of workers and employers. Having access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) can contribute greatly to people’s health and productivity, and to making economies grow. Not to mention that it’s part of the meaning of ’decent work’.

Many of the ILO tools to improve work highlight the importance of access to water, sanitation and hygiene in the workplace. As part of the WASH4Work initiative and UN-Water’s contribution to World Toilet Day, the ILO will present self-training modules on occupational safety and health that can help governments, workers and employers implement the ILO’s standards and codes of practices on water, sanitation and hygiene.

Download the Toolkit.

Photo credit: kevinschoenmakers via Foter.com / CC