Bill Gates Tours Brussels Sewage System on World Toilet Day and Releases Video

On November 19, World Toilet Day, Bill Gates, a well-known American billionaire and philanthropist, visited the Sewer Museum in Brussels. During his visit, Gates went down into the sewers and explored the hidden history of the city’s water waste system.

Gates shared a video on Instagram of his experience, captioning it with “I explored the hidden history of Brussels’ sewage system—and the role of wastewater in global health—for this year‘s #WorldToiletDay.” The video showed Gates meeting with scientists to learn about the intricate workings of the city’s sewer network.

In addition to visiting the Sewer Museum, Gates has participated in other public stunts to raise awareness about sanitation issues. For example, he has drunk water from “fecal sludge” and taken a whiff of pit latrine odor as part of his commitment to solving global issues through The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

World Toilet Day aims to inspire action to tackle the global sanitation crisis. Celebrated annually since 2013, the day serves as an United Nations Observance and was first celebrated in 2001 by the World Toilet Organization. The theme for this year is ‘Accelerating Change’, which highlights the importance of sanitation and hygiene, as well as the repercussions of inadequate availability of water in low- and middle-income countries.