Manchester campaigners highlight World Toilet Day » Communities » 24dash.com

Campaigners in Manchester city centre dressed as toilets on Wednesday, to highlight the plight of the 2.5 billion people across the world who do not have access to a toilet.

The WaterAid supporters dressed up in toilet costumes outside the University of Manchester's Student Union on Wednesday to mark World Toilet Day.

WaterAid, an international charity that works in developing countries helping communities gain access to clean water, sanitation and hygiene education, says 40% of the world's population do not have access to a toilet. This combined with lack of access to clean water and sanitation causes 5,000 deaths every day worldwide, the charity says.

The volunteers, made up of Manchester residents and students spent the day talking to members of the public about the issue.

Andrew Smith, a member of the Manchester Campaigns group, said: "We're hoping to raise greater awareness of this issue in Manchester.

"It is difficult to imagine here in the UK what life might be like without toilets, but almost two-fifths of the world's population do not have them. Together we can help tackle this serious issue which affects the health of so many people."

To mark World Toilet Day, WaterAid launched an appeal to encourage people to buy a toilet for a family in need. Toilets can be bought for
£46 from the charity's online store.

WaterAid's Shami Radia said: "WaterAid's online shop is the ideal place to find a gift with a difference. A toilet may not be a conventional present, but for the 2.5 billion people without access to anywhere safe or hygienic to go to the toilet, it's literally a life-saver, and a way out of poverty."

Ada Oko-Williams, WaterAid's West African sanitation co-ordinator from Nigeria, said: "On the WaterAid Shop for Life site you can actually buy a toilet, you can even buy training for a mason.

"When you buy a latrine for a community this has great implications for their livelihood: they will have better lives, they will have more time to work because of less time being ill."

Visit WaterAid's shop at http://shop.wateraid.org.