Celebrate World Toilet Day with a joke or two

Employees at Severn Trent Water are talking toilets this World Toilet Day and taking action to help transform the lives of some of the world’s poorest people. Staff will support international charity WaterAid with a whole host of activities today (November 19).

Sallie Griffiths, WaterAid rep for Severn Trent Water said: “It’s easy to take our toilets for granted but there are 2.5 billion people worldwide living without this basic human right, that’s one in three of the world’s population, impacting on their health, education and economic prosperity.

“At Severn Trent Water we‘ll be supporting WaterAid this World Toilet Day to help raise funds and awareness of this global crisis. We’re holding a dress down day and promoting the internal lottery, both of which aim to raise money for the charity. But most exciting of all, we’re challenging our staff to see who can come up with the best joke as part of the “It’s no joke” campaign, created by WaterAid.”

It really is no joke – a shocking one in three of the world’s population - still don’t have access to a safe, private toilet. Many have no choice but to face the indignity of going to the loo in the open, where they are exposed to disease and vulnerable to harassment and even attack.

It’s a serious issue that can be hard to talk about – so WaterAid and Severn Trent Water want to overcome their embarrassment and use comedy to get the nation talking about toilets! Over the last two weeks, some of Britain’s best-loved comedians went head to head in the hunt for the UK’s favourite toilet joke. The votes have now been counted, and the nation has chosen their favourite. The winner will be revealed on World Toilet Day – but in the meantime, you can still watch the best one-liners at www.wateraid.org.

Barbara Frost, Chief Executive for WaterAid, said: “Can you imagine life without a toilet? Sadly across the world, 1400 children die every day from diarrhoeal diseases caused by a lack of clean water and inadequate sanitation. And it’s not just about the unhygienic conditions; without a private toilet women and girls are vulnerable to violence, intimidation and indignity.

“Thank you to everyone who is taking action this World Toilet Day – you are making a huge difference to some of the world’s poorest people.”

Last year, Severn Trent Water raised a whopping £268,000 - enough money to change the lives of 17,875 people.

World Toilet Day takes place every year on November 19 and since 2013 has been recognised by the United Nations as an official day, demonstrating the importance of sanitation in overcoming poverty.