01
2017
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12
China's promotion of "toilet revolution" deserves admiration
China's promotion of "toilet revolution" deserves admiration
Source: People's daily
Although the toilet is small, it is related to the life and even life of millions of people. Today, there are 2.5 billion people around the world who can't use safe and sanitary toilets, and 560000 children die of diarrhea caused by poor toilet use every year. Improving toilet environment is an urgent task for many developing countries, but the high cost of pipe network construction and maintenance makes people's dream of safe toilet in some places unreachable.
The Gates Foundation believes that technology and solution innovation is one of the effective ways to solve this problem. Therefore, since 2011, it has supported the research and development of innovative toilet technology that does not need pipe network and water and electricity, is pollution-free, and is economical and practical. We believe that with the progress of toilet technology and the improvement of the community in the treatment of excreta, all human beings will be able to go to toilet safely in the future.
Fighting on this road, we are not alone. China is one of our important partners in the field of global development. Over the past 30 years, China has successfully lifted more than 700 million people out of poverty and taken the lead in achieving the millennium development goal of health facilities in developing countries. It has not only made great efforts to improve the living standards of its people, but also made outstanding contributions to global development. On this basis, in April 2015, President Xi Jinping made an important instruction on "toilet revolution", trying to let the Chinese people enjoy good health facilities and complete the task of the last kilometer of toilet service.
China's will and determination in promoting the "toilet revolution" deserve admiration. After the "toilet revolution" initiative was launched, we saw that the Chinese government, enterprises and society have launched a comprehensive mobilization, and the construction, management, service and civilization of toilets have been generally improved. The renovation and expansion of 68000 tourist toilets exceeded the target ahead of time; people's attitude towards toilets gradually changed from avoidance to popularity; the concept and significance of "toilet revolution" became more popular, and its scope was no longer limited to scenic spots, but to thousands of households across the country.
China's exploration and innovation spirit of "toilet revolution" is worth learning. In 2016, we jointly held the toilet technology innovation competition with China National Tourism Administration, and we saw the ability of Chinese enterprises to be good at research and practical attitude to improve technology according to local conditions. The Gates Foundation also supports Chinese research institutions to develop new generation toilet technology, and promotes innovative Chinese enterprises to cooperate with research institutions at home and abroad to carry out technology marketization. Both of them have played or will play an important role in the historical opportunity of "toilet revolution". In addition to technological innovation, China's "toilet revolution" also focuses on playing a market role and encouraging innovation in management and business models, which is the fundamental guarantee for the long-term sustainability of the "toilet revolution".
The expansion of China's "toilet revolution" to the vast rural areas deserves affirmation and expectation. At the World Toilet Day 2017 and China "toilet revolution" Publicity Day held recently, China's National Tourism Administration announced the opening of the new three-year action plan of "toilet revolution", and proposed that in the future, toilet construction should be inclined to the central and western regions and rural areas, and strive to achieve a balanced layout of toilets. This is very consistent with our commitment to achieve the goal of safe and civilized use of toilets for all.
China's active promotion of the "toilet revolution" can not only help people stay away from disease, strengthen their health, but also improve tourism resources, drive economic development, narrow the development gap, and promote the realization of the grand goal of poverty alleviation in an all-round way. Of course, we cannot ignore that there are still many difficulties to be overcome in the completion of the "toilet revolution". People without good health facilities often live in areas that are difficult to be covered by traditional technology. In order to provide them with safe, convenient, economical, comfortable and dignified toilets, continuous technological transformation and innovation are needed.
I believe that China has seen these difficulties and is confident to find solutions. Recently, the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China pointed out that the major social contradictions in China have been transformed into the contradiction between the people's growing needs for a better life and the unbalanced and inadequate development. The process of China's "toilet revolution" is also part of meeting people's growing needs for a better life. China will play a more important role in promoting the innovation of global toilet technology and service model. The Gates Foundation will continue to focus on and participate in China's "toilet revolution" and work with China to contribute to the improvement of toilet and environmental health in other developing countries around the world. (Brian abergast)
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