User:JustinePorto/Public toilets in Myanmar

Public toilets in Myanmar

Regional and global situation impacting public toilets in Myanmar
Around 2.5 billion people around the world in 2018 did not have access to adequate toilet facilities. Around 4.5 billion people lacked access to proper sanitation. Public toilet access around the world is most acute in the Global South, with around 3.6 billion people, 40% of the world's total population, lacking access to any toilet facilities. 2.3 people in the the Global South do not have toilet facilities in their residence. Despite the fact that the United Nation made a declaration in 2010 that clean water and sanitation is a human right, little has been done in many places towards addressing this on a wider level.

Around 675 million people in South Asia practiced open defecation in 2016. This was more than any other region in the world. An issue in developing countries is toilet access in schools. Only 46% of schools in developing countries have them. Many schools around the world in 2018 did not have toilets, with the problem particularly acute in parts of Africa and Asia. Only one in five primary schools on earth had a toilet and only one in eight secondary schools had public toilets. Public toilet access has been used intentionally in South Asia to exclude certain segments of the population from participating in public life. The lack of single-sex women's toilets in developing countries makes it harder for women to participate in public life, in education and in the workplace. Western public toilet standards including privatization and limited opening hours disadvantage women when implemented in countries in the Far East. In many places in rural Asia, having toilets in a house is considered unclean. As a result, toilets are often located outside the main building for a residence or people practice open defecation because of a lack of toilet access in their homes.

Western style sit toilets are more popular among the emerging middle and upper class around the world. Toilet paper and flush toilets were introduced relatively recently in many parts of Asia. They often are not found in public toilets, and may only be found in hotels catering to international guests and wealth clients. Across Southeast Asia in places where Western style flush toilets are found, many do not have toilet seats. These toilets may also not automatically flush, requiring manual flushing.

Toilets can often be found on more modern long distance buses in Asia. For shorter trips or on older buses, they are much less common. Where toilets are not available on long distance buses, buses often make stops for toilet breaks. Sometimes the stops are in open fields. Many youth hostels and hotels catering to backpackers in Asia do not provide toilet paper.

ASEAN developed a plan in 2002 that they asked to be implemented in member countries to expand public toilet access across the countries it represents. The goal was in part to help expand tourist infrastructure and improve regional economics.