World Plumbing Day 2016

Blog 03/09/2016

World Plumbing Day 2016

World Plumbing Day was established in 2010 by the World Plumbing Council and is celebrated on March 11 by over 100 member organizations in 23 countries. It aims to bring attention to the work that plumbers do around the world, the role they play in public health and to celebrate them for it.
It is estimated that approximately 2.4 billion people live without access to a toilet and that almost 3.1 million deaths are caused each year by sanitation-related diseases, much of which could be addressed by access to clean water and basic plumbing. Not only does plumbing have an important impact on health and living conditions, its influence on the economic growth of developing countries is substantial. In fact, according to a study conducted by UNO and WHO, every dollar spent on improving sanitation generates up to a $34 in increased productivity.

Saniflo is taking this opportunity, World Plumbing Day, to recognize the work of plumbers and reaffirm its own commitment to water-related humanitarian actions around the world. For several years now, Saniflo has committed to providing access to clean water and sanitation, as well as health resources to increase awareness and education opportunities for children and adults on the importance of good hygiene and sanitary living conditions.
Saniflo: a long-term commitment, from Cambodia to Senegal
Saniflo made its first formal commitment to improving sanitation levels around the world in 2014 with a donation to provide 36 Cambodian families with toilets in the countryside villages in the Kanmpong Chhnang region, near Phnom Penh. In association with the World Toilet Organization, Saniflo created the Sanishop, a social enterprise that builds low-cost, cement toilets, made with local products in a sustainable format.
In March 2015, Saniflo co-financed a project in partnership with Hydraulics Without Borders, to fund a drinking water supply network and improve access to toilet for 4,000 residents of the Diam Diam village in Senegal. Access to drinking water and sanitation has improved significantly. Additionally, it has reduced the dependence on difficult water collection, benefiting the entire community.
Finally, in November 2015, Saniflo returned to Kampong Chhang, Cambodia, to focus on the floating villages of Lake Tonle Sap. The region around Lake Tonle Sap, the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia, is home to over 100,000 people who live and work floating on the water. The levels of the lake fluctuate during the dry and rainy seasons from between one and nine metres, making plumbing and sanitation initiatives difficult. Entire villages use the lake for all of their daily needs including, bathing, washing, cooking, fishing, drinking and as a toilet. This is in spite of the sanitation issues and health risks they face everyday including cholera, hepatitis and other transmittable diseases. Saniflo’s investment provided new water treatment systems called HandyPods for schools in four villages. HandyPods, developed by Wetlands Work!, are a mobile ecosystem made up of micro-organisms and plants which eliminate 99.99 per cent of fecal bacteria before releasing the water back into the environment. The system can be connected to buildings, such as schools, in order to handle the water-level fluctuations of the lake.  
A second phase of this sanitation initiative will also work towards increasing water-treatment and hygiene awareness among children and other community members in hopes of reducing illness and school absenteeism, while also encouraging the adoption of similar treatment systems directly in homes.
Join us in celebrating plumbers around the world on March 11, 2016, World Plumbing Day!