It’s hard to believe that in 2025, thousands of children in South Africa still rely on pit toilets at school – facilities that are not only undignified but also unsafe and, in the worst cases, life-threatening.
In the latest episode of Our voice, our future, powered by Breadline Africa, we unpack this ongoing crisis. But this isn’t just a conversation about sanitation. It’s about the safety, dignity and basic human rights of children – rights that are being denied every day.
Across the country, thousands of children still use pit toilets at school. How can these children be expected to learn and grow in environments where even going to the toilet comes with risks. And when you take a step back, the broader picture is just as grim: globally, 1.5 million people die each year due to poor sanitation. Tragically, half of these are children under five – often from diseases that are entirely preventable, like diarrhoea, cholera and typhoid.
But this isn’t just a public health crisis. It’s a deeply personal one. For many children, especially young girls, school becomes a place of anxiety. The lack of privacy, hygiene and safety means that they often stay home while menstruating. That’s valuable learning time lost, not because they’re unwilling, but because the facilities are simply not safe or suitable.
It’s heartbreaking to hear stories of children falling into pit toilets, of schools that don’t have a single working tap, and of communities that have raised the alarm time and time again without meaningful response. These are not isolated incidents. They are symptoms of a broken system that continues to fail the most vulnerable members of our society.
The government’s SAFE Initiative, launched in 2018 to eradicate pit toilets, was a step in the right direction. But progress has been slow, and in some cases, the toilets being installed as “solutions” are just as unsafe as the ones they were meant to replace. The backlog is immense, and without urgent, focused action, the problem will persist for years to come.
So, where does that leave us?
It starts with awareness. The more people who understand the scale and impact of this crisis, the more we can lobby for support. It also means using the tools available – like the Vodacom Bright Sky app – to report schools still using pit toilets. And crucially, it means supporting the organisations working on the ground to make change happen.
At Breadline Africa, we’re doing everything we can to replace dangerous sanitation facilities with safe, sustainable alternatives. We have completed more than 28 toilet replacement projects so far – but that’s just scratching the surface. The need is far greater. We need more partners, more funding, and more voices joining us in saying: enough is enough.
This is not just about sanitation. It’s about dignity. It’s about education. And it’s about justice.
No child should fear going to the toilet at school. No parent should have to worry that a school toilet might harm their child. And no country should accept this level of neglect in its education system.
We invite you to listen to the full conversation in our podcast episode.
Share it.
Talk about it.
Act on it.
Because change begins with us.
🎧 Tune into the full episode of Our voice, our future and find out how you can help turn the tide on the pit toilet crisis.
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