Despite large-scale development plans, Sri Lanka still faces a deeply concerning reality as 1,000s of families continue to live without basic toilet facilities. According to the Department of Census and Statistics’ (DCS) last year’s (2024) Population and Housing Census, more than 13,000 families, representing about 0.2% of the country’s 6.1 million households, still defecate in open areas.
This is not merely a matter of statistics. It is a matter of human rights (HR). Access to toilets is directly linked to a person’s health, safety and dignity. The United Nations General Assembly has officially recognised the HR to safe and clean drinking water and sanitation as essential to the full enjoyment of life and all HR. Furthermore, through the Sustainable Development Goals adopted in 2015, specifically Goal 6.2, the international community has committed to ensuring access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all by 2030. In this context, Sri Lanka, a country that takes pride in its high literacy rate, free healthcare and progressive social policies, must urgently think about why 1,000s still live without access to one of the most basic necessities of life.
The absence of toilets is not just a sign of poverty. It is a sign of neglect, and it raises questions about accountability and the effectiveness of the institutions tasked with ensuring public health and sanitation. The responsibility is a multi-stakeholder duty.
The Health Ministry plays a key role including through its network of Public Health Inspectors who are responsible for ensuring that households and public establishments maintain minimum sanitary standards. These officers have the authority to inspect, advise, and even take action against unsafe or unhygienic sanitation practices. However, their reach and resources are limited, especially in remote areas where open defecation is still reported. The Local Government (LG) authorities also share this responsibility. LG institutions have a duty to establish and maintain public toilets, grant approvals for household sanitation systems and address waste disposal issues. However, public toilets in many areas remain few and poorly maintained. The National Water Supply and Drainage Board also has a crucial role, as ensuring the water supply and related infrastructure facilities plays a role in ensuring proper sanitation.
As a first step, the relevant institutions and officials should be directed and funded to work together to build low-cost, temporary or mobile toilets in areas where permanent facilities are not immediately possible. Government incentives or subsidies could help private and non-profit partners to also contribute to providing sanitation facilities, and that is an effort that is cheaper and faster than waiting for large-scale, permanent infrastructure projects.
Awareness is also equally crucial. The Education Ministry and the Health Ministry have a shared responsibility to instill proper sanitation habits from an early age. Schools should teach not only about cleanliness, but also about the health risks associated with open defecation and improper hygiene. This knowledge can foster behavioural change among adults as well. In communities where cultural habits, stigma or the lack of awareness perpetuate open defecation, education and engagement can make a difference that enforcement alone cannot.
Health concerns remain a key aspect of these efforts. When people defecate in open areas, be it fields, riversides or near water sources, water bodies can become contaminated with faecal matter, leading to the spread of infectious diseases. Illnesses such as cholera and diarrheal diseases thrive in such environments, endangering not only those who practice open defecation but entire communities.
Meanwhile, quoting the DCS, media reports highlighted another alarming issue, i.e. over 100,000 houses in Sri Lanka have been built with mud and rocks for walls and roofed with palmyra leaves, cadjan, or straw. Many such houses also have mud or sand floors instead of cement and most rely on firewood for cooking, which increases indoor pollution and health risks, especially for women and children. These conditions raise serious concerns about how safe, sanitary and sustainable these houses are, particularly during adverse weather conditions. For many of these families, the lack of toilets is only one aspect of a larger struggle for safe and dignified living. People’s safety is as equally important as hygiene, and both must be addressed together. This is a responsibility that falls heavily on LG authorities and the Urban Development Authority, which must first focus on the basic wellbeing of communities before going for larger projects.
Before dreaming of highways, high-rises or smart cities, Sri Lanka must ensure that every citizen can live and relieve themselves in safety, dignity and security. True development begins not with concrete jungles but with protecting basic human needs and rights.