World Toilet Day

I know the possibilities for scatological humour – intentional as well as unintentional – are endless, but let’s go for it anyway: 19 November is World Toilet Day.

TearFund and WaterAid, among others, are drawing attention to it, campaigning for action to tackle inadequate sanitation, and calling on world leaders, including the British government, to address the problem by creating a global action plan on water and sanitation by 2010.

2.5 billion people worldwide don’t have a toilet, and that lack of a basic facility takes its toll on communities in developing countries, where every day 5,000 children under five die from diarrhoeal diseases caused by dirty water. Sanitation also provides dignity; inadequate access is a source of shame, physical discomfort and insecurity.