World Toilet Day Interview with Loowatt's Andry Ratsifehera
Toilets! Not that glamorous of a topic to talk about right? Well, it’s all we really like to talk about and so we’re going to keep doing it anyway. Plus, today is OUR DAY because it’s World Toilet Day!
What is World Toilet Day?
This momentous holiday is a once-a-year celebration held to raise awareness to the fact that nearly 3.4 billion people living on this planet do not have access to safely managed sanitation. Additionally, over 2.1 billion don’t have access to safe drinking water - an inextricably linked issue, since properly managed sanitation is the precursor to a clean water supply.
For this year’s World Toilet Day interview we sat down with Andry RATSIFEHERA, Loowatt Madagascar’s General Manager, to talk about sanitation, social justice and how the two build off of one another. Together, we are amplifying the message that everyone, everywhere deserves access to a safe place to use the bathroom.
1. At SOIL we see that household peace and dignity begins with safe sanitation. How does that message resonate with Loowatt’s work in Madagascar?
Talking about peace and dignity is central to Loowatt’s mission — it gets to the heart of why delivering safe, clean toilets matters. Having a safe toilet brings joy and comfort to everyday life. You can’t bring joy to people without first meeting their most basic needs and giving them what they need to live in peace at home.
In terms of dignity, Loowatt’s goal is to transform the sanitation crisis in Antananarivo and in other cities of Madagascar by offering innovative technology and a professional, reliable service. This combination allows people to live with greater comfort, self-respect, and stability.
2. Antananarivo faces both water scarcity and extreme flooding, similar to Cap-Haitien. How is Loowatt’s sanitation service protecting people, water, and the environment in this context?
Antananarivo is a densely populated city, and space is a limited commodity. One of the biggest advantages of container-based, off-grid toilets is that they don’t require much room — an essential benefit where every square meter counts.
Another key feature is that Loowatt’s toilets are installed above ground, which means no digging and no risk of contaminating groundwater.
Over the last decade, Madagascar has faced severe droughts and floods, worsened by climate change. Loowatt’s toilets directly support climate resilience — they’re easy to install, remove, and relocate when flooding forces families to move temporarily.
Our home services in Antananarivo today save roughly 800,000 liters of water per month, helping families preserve their limited water for essentials like cooking, bathing, and cleaning. Over time, container-based sanitation strengthens a community’s ability to adapt to climate shocks while protecting both people and the environment.
3. What impact have you seen Loowatt’s toilets make in people’s daily lives?
When you talk with people, the first thing they mention is comfort and privacy — especially women and girls. Having a clean, private, modern toilet offers safety and a sense of pride.
One woman shared that before adopting Loowatt’s service, she used a pit latrine in poor condition that had negatively affected her family’s health. After switching, she noticed immediate improvements and felt proud to offer guests a clean bathroom with visitors staying with them.
Clients often tell us that their overall wellbeing improves once they have a toilet they can rely on. It’s about health, yes, but also about dignity and respect — feeling confident, at ease, and proud of one’s home.
4. Both Loowatt and SOIL see sanitation as a question of social justice. What does that connection mean to you personally?
It resonates deeply with me because sanitation is, at its core, a basic human right and inseparable from health and dignity. When I go into the field, I see the daily realities of families living in informal settlements, and it’s impossible not to feel the urgency — everyone deserves a clean, safe toilet. Sanitation is essential for human life to flourish. Every child deserves to grow up without questioning whether they will have what they need to be healthy.
Across Madagascar, many communities struggle to manage fecal waste and urine because there are so few municipal treatment options. And the lack of a toilet at home doesn’t only affect the household — it ripples through the entire community, impacting health, safety, and social wellbeing.
It’s deeply unjust that so many people can’t afford a decent toilet. When I joined Loowatt in 2019, I was shocked by what I saw — and I realized how urgently we need to act. Our work isn’t only about providing hardware, but about building trust-based relationships with the people we serve.
5. If you could share one message with global leaders this World Toilet Day, what would it be?
My message would be: let’s work together efficiently by supporting the actors on the ground who are working every day to create change.
In Madagascar, there are many NGOs working in the WASH sector, but very few implementing at scale due to limited budgets. There have been so many projects since 2018, but not enough tangible results. I don’t think it’s a lack of design — it’s a lack of collaboration. Too many of us are working in silos instead of combining efforts to solve these problems effectively.
My second message is that the time is now. We cannot wait, because the climate crisis is worsening and urban pressures are increasing. We must act today to resolve sanitation issues while considering all the social, environmental, and economic dimensions of the crisis.
And my final message is that you cannot separate sanitation from healthy childhood development. Lack of sanitation spreads debilitating diseases, but good sanitation is a foundation that allows young people to thrive — and it must be recognized as the starting point for ensuring human rights and improving quality of life.
Thank you, Andry, for your work improving access to safe sanitation in Antananarivo and providing us with insights into Loowatt’s impact — and Happy World Toilet Day! 🎉
To learn more about Loowatt Madagascar’s work visit: https://loowatt.mg/