The Critical Impact of Toilets: Saving Lives and Promoting Health

1. Senior School Assembly

2. Can you imagine life without loos? 2.3 billion people in the world don’t have anywhere safe, clean or hygienic to go to the loo. That’s 40% of the world’s population.

3. Loos save lives The humble loo has done more to rid us of infectious disease than the best medicines, even antibiotics or vaccinations. Without a loo in our homes and schools to safely dispose of poo, we’d still be living in a brutal age of cholera, dysentery, typhus and typhoid fever – to say nothing of bubonic plague.

4. The problem with poo There are about one billion germs per gram of poo. That’s less than a teaspoon. Even the smallest amount can leave millions of germs on your hands.

5. The difference a loo makes In Ethiopia, Tadelech’s eight children were constantly sick

6. She learnt about the link between sanitation and healthand built a toilet for her family

7. It stinks! Every two minutes, a child under five dies because unclean water and poor sanitation. It’s a really big problem. But there’s a really easy answer. And we can help!

8. So what can we do to help? We can twin toilets!