Resources / The World’s Longest Toilet Queue

Short Description

From 20 to 22 March 2010, tens of thousands of advocates of all ages stood together in solidarity for one of the most impressive sanitation initiatives this year: The World’s Longest Toilet Queue, jointly organized by End Water Poverty, WSSCC and Freshwater Action Network. People supported the campaign and joined the queue in 80 countries.

Developed to highlight the unsanitary conditions some 2.6 billion people live with daily, The World’s Longest Toilet Queue campaign advocated for governments in developing countries to make greater investments to the WASH sector to bring improved sanitation and water to their citizens.

Twenty-eight of the 35 National WASH Coalition countries participated in the campaign and WSSCC Woman Leader for WASH Maria Mutagamba was one of the ‘famous online queuers’.

Snapshots of advocacy

Liberia

WASH Consortium organizers invited government officials and the public to be part of The World’s Longest Toilet Queue, with speeches, performances, and even a parade! Besides calling on government officials to commit to the WASH sector at the High-Level Meeting on Sanitation and Water for All in Washington DC, an estimated 1500 campaigners queued to advocate for a public toilet in the capital, Monrovia.

The United Republic of Tanzania

The WASH Coalition, WaterAid, and the Ministry of Water and Irrigation advocated improved sanitation to reduce the spread of disease. Over 600 children and several hundred adults participated in a queue on the Mwendapole grounds adjacent to the road between the United Republic of Tanzania and Zambia for maximum press coverage and community participation.

Cameroon

In Yaoundé the WASH Coalition organized a toilet queue to highlight the lack of sanitation in schools. Over 200 school children queued patiently for an hour to demand toilets at their schools. Providing sanitation in schools will significantly improve the education of these children and many others worldwide.