According to the World Health Organization, 2.6 billion people have no access to hygienic toilets. This is a serious problem, as diarrhea kills 1.6 million children each year, largely as a result of polluted drinking water. About 160 million people contract intestinal worms, which can cause malnutrition and anemia, from polluted water.
In an attempt to address these problems, Singapore real estate tycoon Jack Sim has founded the World Toilet Organization.
According to Jack Sim, toilets get too little respect as a solution to serious health issues. Mr. Sim has argued that lack of adequate toilets threatens more children than global warming, but gets little notice because, “No movie star has died of diarrhea. No politician has died of poverty.”
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