Today, November 19, the global community marks World Toilet Day 2024. The day highlights the urgent need for access to safe and sustainable sanitation. This year’s theme, “Leaving No One Behind: Sanitation for All,” aligns closely with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6), which aims to ensure clean water and sanitation for all by 2030.
However, in Cameroon’s North West and South West Regions, this goal remains a distant reality due to the ongoing armed conflict that has exacerbated the region’s sanitation crisis.
The World Health Organization warns that poor sanitation contributes to diseases like diarrhea and cholera, claiming the lives of over 700 children under five daily.
In conflict-affected regions like the North West and South West Regions, the challenge is more acute. With thousands displaced and critical infrastructure destroyed, many residents rely on open defecation or poorly maintained latrines, further endangering public health.
“Just around the former St. Maria Soledad Hospital entrance, there is a toilet system which is full and the sanitation unit of the Bamenda City Council does not care” said a resident of Nchuoboh.
“The toilet facilities of especially bars and other public places has become a center for disease distribution” said Haoul, a resident of Bamenda. “personally I like open air defecation because it’s safest for me” she added.
Although the armed conflict has added pressure on existing institutions, breaking down sanitation systems.
“In Bamenda, most toilet facilities lack water, making it had to use” said Mankah, a bar attender.
These conditions have contributed to outbreaks of waterborne diseases such as cholera, which has plagued parts of Cameroon in recent years. Women and girls are disproportionately affected, as the lack of proper toilets jeopardizes their safety and dignity.
