Every year, World Toilet Day is observed to raise awareness about the global sanitation crisis and encourage action to solve it. The goal set by the United Nation is to achieve safe toilets for all by 2023, as a part of their Sustainable Development Goals.

The UN also states that 3.5 billion people live without proper sanitation and many children also lose their lives due to poor sanitation and unsafe water. This is why World Toilet Day is observed to raise awareness on this issue.

Theme

This year, the theme for World Toilet Day 2024 is "Toilets - A Place for Peace'. This focuses on the growing threat to sanitation that is caused by conflict, climate change, disaster and neglect. When there is a threat to using toilets, it can lead to many health risks.

Not using toilets for too long may lead to Urinary Tract Infection or UTI. For many who do not have access to clean toilets do not drink enough liquid or hold pee for too long. Doctors suggest that holding in pee for too long can cause bacteria to multiply and lead to UTI. By not drinking enough water, your bladder fails to tell the body to pee often, and can cause the bacteria to spread through the urinary tract, which can lead to infection.

Symptoms of UTI:

• Burning or stinging feeling while urinating
• Pain in pelvis or lower abdomen
• Constant urge to empty the bladder
• Strong or foul smelling urine
• Consistently dark urine
• Blood in urine

Holding in pee for too long can also cause your bladder to stretch, making it difficult or even impossible for the bladder to contract and release pee normally. It can also damage your pelvic floor muscles or could lead to kidney stones.

World Toilet Day History And Significance

To prevent such conditions, it is important that everyone has access to clean and safe toilets. In terms of history, the day was established in 2001, by the World Toilet Organization (WTO), which was founded by Jack Sim. However, it was officially recognised by the UN in 2013. The Government of Singapore worked with WTO to create the first UN resolution called Sanitation for All.

India too promotes safe and hygiene toilet through its Swachh Bharat Yojna.

In 2018, Google released around three million specially bred male mosquitoes in one trial town to see if disease-causing pests could be controlled. As a result, the local mosquito population fell by approximately 95%.

Google’s parent company, Alphabet, is now also seeking approval for running similar trials in the United States, where mosquito-borne diseases like dengue, Zika and West Nile virus pose continuing public health challenges. Their aim is to reduce mosquito population without relying solely on chemical insecticides.

How Does Releasing Mosquitoes Help Control Them?

Also read: Bangladesh Dengue Outbreak: 90,000 Hospitalized, 281 Dead

The project, known as Debug, focuses on Aedes aegypti, a mosquito species that can transmit dengue, Zika, chikungunya and yellow fever. The method uses male mosquitoes carrying a naturally occurring bacterium called Wolbachia.

When these males mate with wild females that do not carry a compatible strain, the resulting embryos fail to develop. Over time, this reproductive incompatibility can suppress the local mosquito population.

Male mosquitoes do not bite humans or transmit mosquito-borne diseases. Researchers therefore release large numbers of these males to increase the likelihood that wild females will mate with them rather than produce viable offspring.

The Australian field surveys began in 2015, with the mosquito release taking place in 2018. Around three million male mosquitoes were released over 20 weeks across three treatment towns in Queensland. Researchers compared mosquito populations in these locations with those in towns where no mosquitoes were released.

The results, published in 2021, showed that mosquito numbers began declining within four weeks. In one town, monitoring found only a handful of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes 12 months later, representing approximately 95% population suppression.

US Is Considering The Same Approach

Also read: Florida Reports First Dengue Death In Nearly A Century As Cases Surge To 152

Alphabet’s Debug programme has applied to release up to 32 million male mosquitoes in California and Florida, according to a July 2026 report in The Guardian.

A separate US Environmental Protection Agency filing describes proposed experimental releases of up to 16 million mosquitoes annually in New Jersey, California and Florida.

The EPA’s April 2026 notice invited public reactions on the application. The proposed trials are intended to assess whether the released males can mate with wild mosquitoes and suppress their populations.

Additionally, an executive order signed on September 29, 2026, directed federal agencies to develop non-chemical and technology-enabled methods to control invasive mosquitoes and ticks.

Could This Help Reduce Disease Transmission?

Reducing the population of a disease-carrying mosquito species could help lower the risk of transmission. However, fewer mosquitoes do not automatically translate into an equivalent reduction in human infections. The outcome also depends on local mosquito ecology, movement between areas, the diseases circulating, and how consistently the activity is implemented.

The trial results in Australia are promising, but success is not guaranteed. Mosquito behaviour, environmental conditions, population movement and the ability to release enough numbers of males can affect outcomes. Researchers must also ensure that only males are released, since female mosquitoes bite and can transmit disease. The Australian project used specialised technology to separate male and female mosquitoes.

The United States Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recently announcing new measures to expand investigation into health problems and other side effects reported after vaccination.

The initiative includes a new National Institutes of Health (NIH) clinic, payments to doctors for reporting suspected injuries related to vaccines, and changes to the systems used to collect safety data.

Announced on October 8, 2026, the initiative aims to understand possible complications related to vaccines. However, it has also raised questions about whether increased reporting could distort public concern about vaccine safety without sufficient evidence of causation.

“We must listen to patients and families who report vaccine injuries—not dismiss or gaslight them,” Kennedy said in a statement from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). “President Trump and I are building a health system that takes them seriously, follows the evidence, and uses what we learn to make vaccines safer. This is how we earn back trust in our public health institutions.”

What Changes Were Proposed By US Health Secretary?

The HHS initiative includes four major measures:

• A new NIH clinic: Opened on October 5, the clinic will study and provide care for people experiencing health problems after vaccination.
• Payments for reporting: The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has proposed reimbursing doctors for reporting suspected vaccine-related injuries to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS).
• Electronic health records: The government intends to access electronic health records to track adverse events after vaccination.
• Modernising VAERS: The system will be updated to simplify reporting and improve the tools available to researchers and healthcare professionals. VAERS, jointly managed by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), already accepts reports from patients, family members, healthcare providers and vaccine manufacturers.

Also read: Nearly 4,000 Measles Cases In US: CDC Director Says MMR Vaccine Is ‘Absolutely Safe’

What Are The Benefits Of Vaccine-Injury Reporting?

Vaccines can occasionally cause adverse side effects. Most reported side effects are mild, but in rare cases, serious events may occur. Identifying these reactions is key for improving vaccine safety.

Expanding reporting could help researchers detect unusual risk factors and identify adverse events. Trials involving relatively small numbers of participants may not always detect very rare complications that can emerge only after a vaccine is administered to millions of people.

More complete electronic health records could also help clinicians identify patterns across different settings, while a dedicated NIH clinic could provide care to patients whose symptoms require further investigation.

Also read: Plague Treatable, CDC Monitoring US Arrivals From Russia After Worker’s Death, Says Director Erica Schwartz

What Are The Risks?

More reports do not automatically mean more vaccine injuries. VAERS accepts reports of health problems occurring after vaccination, even when the person reporting them is unsure whether the vaccine caused the problem.

The CDC explicitly states that a VAERS report does not establish causation. Reports may be incomplete, contain errors or describe illnesses unrelated to vaccination. Establishing a causal link requires further investigation, including clinical assessment and analysis of other possible explanations.

The CDC also warns that media attention and increased public awareness can lead to more reports, complicating efforts to identify genuine safety signals. If raw reporting numbers are presented as proof that vaccines are dangerous, they can create misleading impressions and contribute to mistrust in vaccine.

The proposal to reimburse doctors for reporting suspected injuries also raises questions about how these incentives will be designed, monitored and interpreted. More reports may improve surveillance, but the value of the system will depend on the quality of the information.

Since July 2025, at least 52 maternity units across the United States have been shut down. Eight more closures were announced recently, raising concerns that upcoming federal Medicaid cuts could further restrict access to pregnancy and neonatal care, especially in rural communities and regions with limited healthcare resources.

The closures come as hospitals prepare for changes under the HR1 bill, which will reduce federal Medicaid funding and introduce stricter eligibility rules and work requirements. Although the legislation's impact is expected to be felt in 2027, some hospitals have already cited the anticipated changes as a reason for ending maternity services.

US Maternity Units Are Closing

Also read: High BP in Pregnancy Linked to 42,000 Maternal Deaths, 500,000+ Stillbirths, Newborn Deaths: WHO

Maternity wards are expensive to operate because they require round-the-clock staff, special equipment and teams trained for emergencies. Low reimbursement rates, staffing shortages, and declining birth rates have already placed financial pressure on hospitals. Reduced Medicaid funding could make it harder for some hospitals to keep these services.

Erin Jones, senior director of legislative and strategic counsel at the nonprofit March of Dimes, warned that the changes could worsen existing healthcare problems.

“We’re deeply concerned that these changes already have and will continue to worsen an already serious maternity care crisis,” she said. “Reduced funding and restrictions on how states finance Medicaid will put additional pressure on state budgets and hospitals, increasing the risk that communities lose essential maternity services and specialized providers close to home.”

Hospitals that have permanently closed maternity wards include Centra Southside Community Hospital in Virginia and St Mary’s Sacred Heart Hospital in rural northeastern Georgia. Both mentioned upcoming federal Medicaid policy changes as the reasons for their decisions.

Impact Of Medicaid Cuts On Pregnant Women

Also read: American Academy of Pediatrics Warns Of Raw Milk Risks, Calls For Ban

Medicaid is a major source of health coverage for low-income Americans, paying for approximately 40% of births in the country. Changes to the program could affect hospitals’ finances as well as patients’ ability to receive health coverage.

Although pregnant women are supposed to be exempt from the new work requirements, eligibility rules could still create difficulties for some patients.

Benjamin Sommers, a professor of healthcare economics at Harvard University’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health, said the law would “absolutely” affect pregnant women and pregnancy care facilities.

“It’s not true that this law in any way protects Medicaid for pregnant mothers, for low-income parents. It adds financial strain to the providers and the insurance program that they rely on,” he said.

Sommers warned that some pregnant women are enrolled through Medicaid expansion rather than a pregnancy-specific category. If state authorities do not know that a beneficiary is pregnant, she may not be automatically protected from the new requirements.

“Someone could be enrolled through Medicaid expansion, they could get pregnant and they could mistakenly think – because they heard it on the news that this law doesn’t affect pregnant people – [they’re] fine, and it turns out the state doesn’t know they’re pregnant and they lose coverage."

Rural Communities At Risk

The consequences of maternity unit closures can impact other aspects other than childbirth. Pregnant women may have to travel farther for antenatal appointments, emergency obstetric care and delivery, adding transport costs and making timely treatment more difficult.

March of Dimes has identified 31 rural hospitals with labour and delivery services that could be at risk. If these units close, 96 counties could lose their remaining local delivery services, Jones warned. “Losing these services means fewer places to deliver safely and fewer options for pregnancies requiring specialized care,” she added.

The organisation’s 2026 report found that 34.6% of US counties were maternity care deserts, meaning they had no obstetric clinicians or birthing facilities. These areas are home to approximately 2.4 million women of reproductive age.