On Thursday, December 06, 2018, the municipality of Jacqueville hosted the official celebration of the World Toilet Day in Côte d'Ivoire, a ceremony conducted by the Ministry of Sanitation and Hygiene, through the Directorate of Rural Sanitation, chaired by the Minister of Sanitation and Hygiene, Anne Désirée OULOTO under the theme: "When nature calls”

The ceremony began with speeches from the various authorities followed by sketches by women and students in Jacqueville on the problems caused by open defecation (in the schools and on the beach), issues that students of this seaside resort face on a daily basis.

Given the importance of this issue on the open defecation’s dangers, The mayor of the commune, M BEUGRE Joachim, called for greater awareness of the use of improved toilets for all.

According to Dr. Sophie LEONARD, UNICEF Deputy Representative in Côte d'Ivoire, despite Côte d'Ivoire’s efforts to provide access to improved sanitation services, the reality is that 5 out of 6 people in rural areas and 1 out of 2 people in urban areas do not yet use improved toilets. Other challenges still remain, especially in terms of management of sludge and plastic waste that causes pollution.

The Minister, Mrs Anne Désirée OULOTO, reminded the Sustainable Development Objective SDO 6.2, which stipulates: " by 2030, 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”

Therefore, according to her, it is necessary to "build functional toilets and sanitation systems, in harmony with our environment, to avoid transforming nature into an open-air sewer". Finally, she invited Ivorians to make the use of hygienic toilets a common practice for the preservation of health, the environment and to put an end to open defecation by 2030.The celebration ended with an exhibition where some companies in the sector presented low-cost latrine construction materials and various sanitation products.

The celebration ended with an exhibition where some companies in the sector presented materials for building latrines at a lower cost as well as various sanitation products