User:JustinePorto/Public toilets in Zimbabwe

Public toilets in Zimbabwe are rare, found at a rate of around one per 100,000 people. The most common type of toilet is a sit toilet, and toilet paper is rarely provided. Many charge an access fee to use.

Public toilets
The local word for public toilet is chimbudzi.

A 2021 study found there was one public toilet per 100,000 people. The most common type of toilet is a sit toilet, and toilet paper is rarely provided. The typical charge to use a public toilet is Z$50 US Cents, though some in bus stations may be free while others may cost up to USD$1.00.

In majority white ruled parts of the country in the late 1970s, public toilets were often available and well maintained as a means of reinforcing racial segregation. These facilities were also something demanded by local white expatriates. This contrasted with public toilet services for other people, which were largely non-existent.

History
The Cowdray Park District's sanitation systems in Bulawayo were rehabilitated in the early 2020s as a result of financing from the African Development Bank. Part of this work also included the planned construction of 44 public toilets, with ones being designated for men, women and people with disabilities.

On World Toilet Day 2021, the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) made a public declaration aimed at the Zimbabwe government around the lack of access by the whole population to public toilets and adequate sanitation.

The Zimbabwean government made a mode in May 2021 to try to move away from pit latrines towards water efficient flush toilets. The purpose in doing so was to try to reduce the spread of tropical diseases. The government announced plans to begin building these toilets in schools and healthcare centers in urban and peri-urban areas.

The  Harare City Council  privatized one of the nine the public toilets at the Mbare Bus Terminus in late 2021, charging travelers, vendors and bus terminal employees around USD$1 each time they needed to use the toilet. There were no exceptions granted for the elderly, those with disabilities and other people who are sometimes granted concessions. The toilets that were privatized had had their facilities improved by donors, with an expectation that they would remain freely accessible to the public.

Open defecation and sanitation
Progress began to be made in general waste management in the 1990s. In the early 2010s, a large percentage of the population of Chinhoyi lacked adequate sanitation. Around 24.9%  of the people in the country practiced open defecation in 2017. The open defecation rate in the Matabeleland North and Manicaland provinces dropped by two percent between 2019 and 2020.

Regional and global situation impacting public toilets in Zimbabwe
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. 344 million children in sub-Saharan Africa did not have a toilet in their home in 2018. The lack of toilet access put these children at risk of water borne diseases. 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. Across Africa, open defecation had social consequences. These included loss of dignity and privacy. It also put women at risk of sexual violence.

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. In developing countries, girls are less likely to attend school once they hit puberty if their school does not have adequate hygiene facilities.

Flush toilets are often only found in affluent areas of developing countries.