ESBE CELEBRATES WORLD PLUMBING DAY 2022
2022-03-11
Every year, on 11 March, World Plumbing Day is celebrated. It’s an international event founded by the World Plumbing Council, with the support of the World Health Organisation (WHO). At ESBE, we naturally want to get involved and celebrate this important day.
The day was created to highlight the significance of plumbers/HVAC technicians. They are much more essential to our planet than you might realise.
Three things we humans can’t do without
Water, sanitation, hygiene. Three words that are closely linked, and that the vast majority of Swedes takes for granted. We just need to turn on the tap and we get clean drinking water. Sanitation is a given in pretty much all Swedish homes. In other words, it’s not difficult for us to take care of our hygiene, and we have access to safe sanitation.
But this is sadly not the case everywhere on our planet.
The importance of water and sanitation
Some thought-provoking facts from the World Plumbing Council via UNICEF and WHO (2017 figures):
The importance of water and sanitation
Some thought-provoking facts from the World Plumbing Council via UNICEF and WHO (2017 figures):
1 in 5 schools
across the world don’t provide toilets. The shortage of toilets stops young girls from attending school when they have their periods, increasing the gap in education and worsening gender equality
The number of people
who deposit faeces outside dropped from 1.2 billion to 892 million between 2000 and 2015. The number reduced by an average of 22 million per year
361,000 children
under the age of 5 die every year of diarrhoea caused by water pollutants from faeces deposited outdoors, flood water, or unhygienic toilets.
Over 1 billion people
have gained access to water through pipes between 2000 and 2015
The global population
of people using sanitation services increased from 28% in 2000 to 39% in 2015
2.1 billion
or 3 out of 10 people in the world lack access to clean, readily-available water at home
263 million
people – ten times the population of Australia – spend over 30 minutes on a round trip to collect safe drinking water
900 million
school children across the world are unable to wash their hands – a critical barrier in the spread of disease
892 million
people around the world deposit their faeces outside
Water and sanitation are fundamental to survival
In the UN’s Global Goals and Agenda 2030, there are goals that cover water and sanitation:
- Goal 3: Good health and well-being
- Goal 5: Gender equality
- Goal 6: Clean water and sanitation
- Goal 9: Industry, innovation and infrastructure
- Goal 10: Reduced inequalities
How can World Plumbing Day make a difference?
The WHO has determined that poor HVAC processes can be a cause of the spread of serious, contagious diseases. So we need well trained and competent workforces.
Here’s what Tom Bigley, chair of the World Plumbing Council, has to say:
”On 11 March, people from all over the world connected only by their common need for safe, clean water, will celebrate World Plumbing Day. An opportunity to recognise the invaluable contribution plumbing makes to civilisation and the planet.
The purpose of World Plumbing Day is simple. To create in the public consciousness, a renewed understanding of the role plumbers play in protecting the health and safety of humanity.
If there is one thing this ongoing pandemic has taught us, it’s that frequent hand washing and access to safe sanitation is key to preventing this virus.”
The world needs (more) plumbers!
If you don’t have a proper, reliable tap water system in your home, you don’t have easy access to water for the bathroom, shower, dish washing or laundry. A life without HVAC means you need to be able to carry water in buckets in and out of the home every day. That’s assuming you have access to a clean-water well nearby.
The plumber, or installer as we tend to call them at ESBE, should be honoured. Without them, we wouldn’t have access to clean water or sanitation in our homes. The plumbers are the unsung heroes who help us to achieve several of the absolutely most essential global goals.