At an international level the right to safe sanitation has been recognised as essential for the full enjoyment of life for all human beings. The centrality of sanitation is recognised by the inclusion of goal 6 in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). One of the targets under SDG 6 is by 2030 to “achieve access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all and end open defecation, paying special attention to the needs of women and girls and those in vulnerable situations”.

South Africa has demonstrated significant progress in ensuring access to safe, hygienic and adequate sanitation. Statistics South Africa through the General Household Survey 2024 indicates that access to improved sanitation (flush toilets and pit toilets with ventilation pipes) increased from 61,7% in 2002 to 83,1% in 2024. However, from 2018 to 2024 this figure has remained stagnant in the region of 83%. Yet, despite the significant strides taken in realising access to sanitation, a significant proportion of the population still lacks improved sanitation, resorting to unsafe sanitation practices, such as open defecation and the bucket toilet system.

The SAHRC through several investigations has noted that access to safe, hygienic and adequate sanitation remains a significant challenge in the country. In a recent investigative report, the SAHRC found that residents in several municipalities in the North West Province are subjected to utilising toilets that do not allow them to live a life of dignity due to lack of basic sanitation. This is despite the existence compulsory water and sanitation standards which prescribes the provision of a toilet with functional hand washing facility in the yard as the standard for basic sanitation in the country.

The SAHRC’s monitoring work and complaints received, show that lack of sanitation is a major challenge in schools. The SAHRC’s recently released 2025 School Readiness Monitoring Report shows that poor sanitation or pit latrines is part of the top 5 systemic challenges reported in schools nationally. The SAHRC also continues to receive complaints regarding lack of safe, hygienic and adequate sanitation by women and girl children which exposes them to heightened health and security risks in the absence of safe sanitation.

As the nation joins the international community to mark World Toilet Day, the SAHRC calls upon government and all sectors of society to redouble efforts and recommit to accelerating the provision of access to safe, hygienic and adequate sanitation for all. For its part, the SAHRC will continue to monitor the efforts taken by government in ensuring that access to safe, hygienic and adequate sanitation becomes a lived reality in South Africa.

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Issued by the South African Human Rights Commission