Steph, UN spokesperson, noted the day marks "World Toilet Day" and that this year’s theme is "sanitation in a changing world." She said that billions still lack safe toilets, with the poorest most affected, and that "access to a toilet is a matter of rights and survival."

The spokesperson highlighted that the lack of secure toilets particularly affects women and girls, leading to missed work and school, and called for faster progress on future-ready sanitation systems that are accessible, climate resilient, low-emissions and well funded.