World Toilet Day

19 November is World Toilet Day. But why, when every day seems to be given a name - be it Cat Day, Cuddle Day or even Doughnut Day - is World Toilet Day important?

Well, for one, the average person spends three years of their life on the loo - so there is plenty of time to think about it! But, while it is easy to laugh about toilets, or rather the lack of them, it is a very serious issue.

Two and a half billion people live without a clean or private place to go to the toilet.

This means that nearly 40% of the world's population have to use fields, streams, rivers, railway lines, canal banks, roadsides, plastic bags, or squalid, foul smelling, disease breeding buckets and unsanitary latrines.

When you consider that just one gram of faeces can contain 10 million viruses, one million bacteria, one thousand parasite cysts and one hundred worm eggs, it is easy to see how without proper disposal, human waste can contaminate water and food, and how this causes disease.

With WaterAid's support the school in Warok, Nigeria now has separate latrines for girls and boys.

Credit: WaterAid / Suzanne Porter

According to the Water and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC) the majority of illness in the world is caused by faecal matter. And it is these illnesses which lead to malnutrition.

Frequent illnesses, especially diarrhoea, undermine a child's growth, as WSSCC states: "Disease takes away appetite, inhibits the absorption of nutrients, burns up calories in fever and fighting infection, and drains away nutrients in vomiting and diarrhoea."

But the solution isn't rocket science. All that is needed is decent sanitation along with good hygiene and a safe, clean supply of water. Is that really too much to ask?

By supporting WaterAid you are already helping us to change lives. But so much more needs to be done. This World Toilet Day we are holding a range of activities to help even more people.

So, on 19 November, why not get involved and help us ensure more of the world's poorest people gain access to one of life's most basic needs - a safe and clean place to go to the loo.