Access to safe and dignified sanitation is central to human life. Safe sanitation is recognised as an essential component for the full enjoyment of life. States, such as South Africa, through the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have committed to achieving access to adequate, equitable and hygienic sanitation for all by the year 2030. Yet, the world is significantly off track when it comes to achieving SDG 6 and associated targets.

In South Africa, significant strides have been made towards access to safe and equitable sanitation. According to the General Household Survey, 2023 released in May 2024 by Statistics South Africa, access to improved sanitation (flush toilets and pit toilets with ventilation pipes) increased from 61,7% in 2002 to 83,3% in 2023.

Despite these impressive statistics, the Green Drop Assessment Report, 2023 reveals that the state of wastewater treatment plants (used to remove and eliminate contaminants from wastewater) in South Africa is in dire condition, posing a serious threat to public and environmental health.  Also, some households still lack access to improved sanitation. These households still practise open defecation and utilise buckets as a toilet. Census 2022, reveals that 2,1% of households in South Africa utilised bucket toilets as a form of sanitation in 2011 and that figure remained unchanged in 2022. The Non-Financial Census of Municipalities 2022, released by Statistics South Africa in March 2024, shows that the Free State is the province with the highest usage of the bucket toilet system in the country.

According to the Department of Basic Education’s Education Facility Management System report children at school are also affected by the lack of safe and hygienic sanitation. Research and monitoring undertakings by the SAHRC reveal that a significant number of schools in the country still use pit toilets as a form of sanitation. This not only poses serious risks to the learners but also violates several human rights of both learners and educators at the relevant schools.

This also has a gendered aspect, as adolescent girl learners who are menstruating are forced to miss school every month due to the absence of safe, hygienic and dignified sanitation facilities at school. The SAHRC has consistently requested the government to completely eradicate pit toilets at schools and provide safe and hygienic sanitation for learners and educators. The SAHRC has also in the past called on the government to tackle the bucket toilet system with haste and speed.

As the nation observes World Toilet Day, the SAHRC reiterates its previous calls for action. The SAHRC urges the government to accelerate efforts to eliminate pit latrines at schools and to allocate resources to address unsafe and unhygienic sanitation methods like pit and bucket toilets. These practices are degrading and violate human dignity. The government must ensure that toilets are safe, private, and healthy spaces.  The government must ensure that toilets are a safe, private, and healthy space. Toilets should be a place for peace, which is shielded from any sort of harm.

Ends

ISSUED BY THE SOUTH AFRICAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION

For further information or inquiries, please contact Wisani Baloyi, SAHRC Communications Coordinator on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..