Our editorial package in November focuses on Clean Water and Sanitation - Sustainable Development Goal 6.  

Below is a preview of the package. Our full editorial content will be distributed on Friday, 1 November 2019, ahead of World Tsunami Day (5 November), World Toilet Day (19 November). We will also look at Universal Children's Day (20 November) and International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women (25 November).

Much of the content will look at how the lack of clean water and sanitation affects the entire 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including health, gender equality, reduced inequalities, infrastructure and the environment.  

Wishing you a productive November. 

World Toilet Day (19 November)

Nearly half of the world’s population today lives without safely managed sanitation - essentially hygienic, private toilets that safely dispose of people’s waste. Three billion people lack basic hand-washing facilities and an estimated 600 million people still practice open defecation. It is estimated that 432,000 people die of diarrhoea every year - the majority of which could be prevented through safe drinking-water and adequate sanitation and hygiene. 

This World Toilet Day, the United Nations and its partners will draw attention to the social, economic and environmental consequences of the lack of sanitation and access to safe toilets, stressing that sanitation is our human rights and that toilets are life-savers, dignity-protectors and opportunity-makers.    

In this edition, UN Water will look at Eight Things You Need to Know about the Sanitation Crisis. TheUN Office for Project Services will give a firsthand account of ending open toilet use in Nepal’s impoverished Terai region, where the practice has been longstanding and accepted.

World Tsunami Awareness Day (5 November)

The vast majority of all natural disasters are water-related, accounting for 70 per cent of all deaths related to disasters - and the impact and cost of these events are exacerbated by factors such as unplanned urbanization and degradation of ecosystem services.

This year, World Tsunami Day will focus on reducing disaster damage to critical infrastructure and disruption of services, and the need to invest in resilient infrastructure, early warning systems and education. 

Universal Children's Day (20 November)

Every year, an estimated 297,000 children under 5 years die from diarrhoea linked to unsafe water, sanitation and hygiene - that means, every day, more than 700 children die from this crisis. Moreover, the changing climate continues to destroy, dry up and contaminate water sources. If we don’t act now, by 2040, 600 million children will live in areas of water stress. 

This year, as the UNICEF marks Universal Children’s Day and the 30th anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, it reminds global leaders to honour the commitment they made three decades ago, including making sure all children have the right to the best health care possible, clean water to drink, healthy food and a clean and safe environment to live in.

International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women (25 November)

Access to improved sanitation promotes dignity and boosts safety, particularly among women and girls, who can be at risk of being victims of rape and sexual assault because of the lack of access to a toilet that offers privacy. November also marks the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women when the United Nations will launch its annual 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence campaign under the theme Orange the World: Generation Equality Stands Against Rape.

The full editorial package will be available on our Goal of the Month page onFriday, 1 November 2019.

Please contact Devi Palanivelu (palanivelu@un.org) or Martin Samaan (samaanm@un.org) if you have any questions or comments.

All monthly editorial packages will focus on a specific SDG that relates to the UN System’s priority that month. Check out our calendar for more information on what is expected for the rest of 2019. Our 2020 calendar will be available next month.

                                                                        SDG CALENDAR 2019

30 October 2019

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