I grew up in the countryside and one of my favorite things to do was go to the forest with my friends, build tree houses, creep on wood choppers and pretend we were Vikings. Once out in the forest, it was too much of an effort to go back home to use the bathroom when the need arose so we would just find a spot behind a tree, a leaf big enough to function as paper, crouch over and go for it. No shame in the game.

Until a bunch of my friends ran up, staring, yelling and pointing while you were sitting there with a bare butt. Oh, the shame.


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This brings me to the importance of World Toilet Day on November 19. I was lucky enough to have the option to actually go home in case I wanted to go, but 2,4 billion people still don’t have that option. This issue affects 2.4 billion people, or 1 in 3 people worldwide. It’s one of the world’s greatest obstacles to public health and environmental sustainability, and it costs the world’s poorest countries $260 billion USD every year.


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Not having access to toilets and functioning sanitation can lead to diarrheal and other diseases. 90% of childhood deaths from diarrheal disease take place in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, where access to safe water, sanitation, and medical care can be limited. These infections play a role in compromising health more broadly and can lead to a vicious cycle of infection, stunted growth, cognitive impairment, and poor immune responses, preventing children from ever reaching their full potential.


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World Toilet Day on November 19 was founded to bring awareness to these issues. The Global Poverty Project and Global Citizen will be working with Domestos - a Unilever brand, and UNICEF by setting up a see-through-toilet in Washington Square Park, New York City. 

We  had the see-through-loo backstage during the Global Citizen Festival in September and asked people to walk in, sit down and explain how it would feel having to use the loo with people watching all around. Most people felt quite uncomfortable with that imaginary situation.

You can watch their reactions here.

Nearly 1 billion people have to defecate in the open. World Toilet Day is a day to take action. It is a day to raise awareness about all the people who do not have access to a toilet. Water and sanitation is a human right. Everyone has to make sure these basic rights are fulfilled.


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Come join us in Washington Square Park and check out the see-through toilet yourself. For a chance to win a cool prize, tell us how important it is that we end open defecation. We need to show the world that we literally give a shit!

Sanitation is a global development priority. In time for World Toilet Day, tweet at the Prime Minister of Sweden thanking him for his commitment to improving sanitation for millions AND call on him to show us how he will implement this commitment.


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We can’t wait for 2.4 billion people to have improved sanitation and almost 1 billion to have access to toilets. That’s a whole lot of poop with no place to go, and with many implications for health, education and gender equality, among others.

You can TAKE ACTION NOW to call on world leaders to ensure that everyone has access to clean water and sanitation.

Editorial

Defeat Poverty

Let's talk about poop

By Anna Strindberg