Sickness is not welcome in any home but that fact alone will not prevent it from affecting household members, especially without precautionary measures in place. The most vulnerable are the children, often resulting to missed school days. Days spent being sick plus the recovery period equal the length of time spent away from school learning and other productive activities. This is what the World Toilet Day 2015 wishes to emphasize.

443 Million Missed School Days

According to a study conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO), children around the world miss an estimated 443 million school days each year because of diseases caused by poor sanitation and hygiene practices, including using unsanitary toilets. Simply put, this number of sick days is equivalent to all grade school and high school classrooms in the Philippines being empty for one month. This sanitation-related concern hinders the children’s learning and significantly reduces their quality of life.
Illnesses due to poor toilet sanitation include diarrhoeal disease and parasitic worm infections which can lead to nutritional deficiencies, physical and mental stunting, and death. Every day, millions of children in rural communities and urban households nationwide are exposed to these health problems by using dirty toilets populated by disease-carrying germs.

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“A toilet that looks clean to the naked eye may not necessarily be free from germs and bacteria. So, it is very important to properly sanitize all surfaces using a germ-kill expert with proven efficacy in eliminating bacteria, and not just any ordinary laundry bleach,” Dr. Efren warned.


One Million Clean Toilets Movement

For the past three years, Unilever Philippines through its germ-kill expert brand Domex, has been working with UNICEF and PPHA to champion the One Million Clean Toilets Movement. This advocacy program aims to educate Filipinos on proper toilet hygiene and the need for sanitized household toilets to keep their families safe against disease-causing germs.


On November 13, World Toilet Day, join the One Million Clean Toilets Movement in the fight against disease causing germs to save lives, one clean toilet at a time. To learn more about Domex and how you can stay safe from disease with a germ-free home, visit Domex Philippines on Facebook. 




My Say

There is a need to be proactive in preventing diseases that result from unsanitary toilet conditions. This is something that we can avoid happening to our loved ones. Prevention starts in our own homes.

That said, if we don't take care of our own, who will?