Wednesday 27 January was the 100th anniversary of Thomas Crapper’s death, the master plumber from Yorkshire widely thought to have invented the flush toilet.
Contrary to misconceptions, Thomas Crapper, founder of Thomas Crapper & Co Ltd in London, did not invent the flush toilet, but we still owe him thanks for being one of the first to market the flush toilet to the masses.
To celebrate Crapper’s commitment to sanitation and raise awareness of the 2.5 billion people who still live without it, WaterAid is calling on members of the public to join a new record breaking End Water Poverty campaign.
From 20 to 22 March 2010, supporters from all over the world will join with others to form The World’s Longest Toilet Queue, and stand in solidarity with those who still waiting for their right to use a safe, clean toilet. It will be an official Guinness World Record attempt.
“Timing is crucial,” explained Oliver Cumming, WaterAid Sanitation Policy Officer, “as one month later UK politicians and other decision makers will gather at the first ever High Level Meeting on Sanitation and Water in Washington to discuss what should be done to tackle the global water and sanitation crisis. We must maintain public pressure ahead of this important meeting.”
“Existing evidence suggests that poor sanitation is the single greatest killer of children, linked to as many as 2.4 million child deaths annually,” said Cumming.
Children living in households with no toilet are twice as likely to get diarrhoea as those with a toilet, causing more deaths every year than AIDS, malaria and measles combined. In sub-Saharan Africa treating diarrhoea costs governments at least 12% of their total health budget.
“Without a comprehensive approach to tackling poverty that includes provision of sanitation and safe drinking water, global progress on meeting several MDGs will fail – including the critical goal of reducing the number of children who die before their fifth birthday,” said Cumming.
Taking part in the World’s Longest Toilet Queue is easy: participants just need to get a group of people to queue in front of a toilet for ten minutes at some point between 20-22 March 2010. The toilet itself can be real, fake or even someone dressed up in a toilet costume. Details at: www.wateraid.org
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