According to the “Sustainable Development Goal 6 Synthesis Report 2018 on Water and Sanitation”, the world is not on track to reach Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6: to ensure availability and sustainable management of sanitation and water for all by 2030.
This notion was reiterated at the Domestos #FlushForum which took place in Johannesburg, on the 19th of November also known internationally as Word Toilet Day. The forum saw a number of stakeholders engage in solution based dialogues that will help increase access to sanitation in 3800 schools in South Africa.
Additionally ,the unilever powered initiative has now partnered with media personality Anele Mdoda, to start a crowdfunding initiative to help include one more school in the toilet renovations for next year.
“Domestos is planning to renovate or build new toilets in 2 South African schools in 2019 and I want to make it 3! I have kicked off this campaign with R10,000 and Domestos has matched it. Now we need you to help us reach our goal of R1.1 million.” said the 947 breakfast radio host.
The platform managed to raise R700 000 in just one hour , with most pledges coming from the audience at the forum who had the urge to support the cause.
Mdoda gave a heartwarming speech stating that more people should share all their sanitation stories,so that there can be kind of change. Mdoda’s speech was followed by a panel discussions with representatives from UNICEF and the Department of Basic Education.
“Out of the the four actors that may prohibit children from going to school, three are directly affected by poor sanitation. When we talk about quality education, we have to include quality sanitation” said Deputy Director at the Department of Basic Education , Dr Granville Whittle.
