EARLY this week, we reported that Matabeleland North province has once again topped the rankings for households that rely on open defecation, according to the Zimbabwe Livelihoods Assessment Committee (ZimLAC) 2025 Rural Livelihoods Assessment Report.
The report noted some progress, with the proportion of households without toilets in the province dropping from 53% in 2024 to 46% this year.
Yet the figures remain worrying.
Districts such as Binga (80,1%), Tsholotsho (56,5%), Kariba (50,8%) and Mwenezi (49,4%) recorded the highest proportions of households resorting to open defecation.
Nationally, Midlands follows with 33% of households without toilets, while Mashonaland West sits at 30%, Masvingo at 30%, Matabeleland South at 29%, Mashonaland East at 13%, Mashonaland Central at 10% and Manicaland at 9%.
Encouragingly, every province recorded slight improvement compared to last year.
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Still, the situation demands urgent action.
In 2025, no Zimbabwean family should be forced to relieve themselves in the bush.
Toilets are not a luxury.
They are a basic necessity, a human right and the very foundation of dignity.
The government cannot continue to leave the burden of constructing toilets to impoverished households.
For a subsistence farmer struggling to buy mealie-meal, this is unaffordable.
Yet with better prioritisation of public funds, rural sanitation can be transformed.
A Blair toilet, the most common rural household sanitation facility, costs between US$250 and US$400 to build.
A 2023 United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees case study estimated the average total cost at US$266, with households contributing around US$123.
These figures, while significant for poor families, show that with co-ordinated support from government, non-governmental organisations, local leadership and communities, universal access is within reach.
A toilet is not just a structure — it is the cornerstone of dignity, safety and public health.
Toilets prevent the spread of diseases, protect the environment and offer privacy and security, particularly for women and children who are most vulnerable to harassment and harm when forced to relieve themselves in the open.
Access to sanitation is a human right.
It underpins equality, enables children to attend school without shame and allows communities to thrive in health and confidence.
Without safe, private and accessible toilets, households remain trapped in cycles of indignity, poor health and exclusion.
The government must prioritise rural sanitation as part of sustainable development.
Every family deserves the peace of mind and self-worth that comes with the simple act of using a toilet safely and privately.
Restoring dignity begins with building toilets — and ensuring that no one is left behind.
To begin with, why is this not a national programme, backed by Treasury, local authorities and development partners?
We cannot keep celebrating marginal improvements while millions live without privacy, safety or protection from disease.
Open defecation spreads cholera and typhoid, threatens the environment.
Access to safe and private toilets is a matter of equality.
It is about restoring the dignity of every family and ensuring that no child skips school out of shame.
It is about building healthy, thriving communities that can pursue development without being held back by preventable diseases.
The time for excuses has passed.
Government must move beyond rhetoric and commit real resources to sanitation.
Rural families have waited too long for dignity.
Toilets are not optional — they are the bare minimum of what every citizen deserves.