Harpic has launched its ‘More than a toilet’ campaign to support Water.org in its effort to end the water and sanitation crisis around the world. They will be raising awareness and funds to support the international non-profit co-founded by Matt Damon and Gary White in time for World Toilet Day on Monday 19th November 2018. In addition, their parent company, RB, has donated $1 million to Water.org’s efforts to change lives.
The campaign aims to bring to light the exceedingly high number of people in India and other developing countries living without access to basic sanitation and highlight the alarming effect this has on people’s health, safety and education.
The ‘More than a toilet’ campaign was announced last week (18th October) at One Young World: a summit that discusses and shares innovative solutions for the pressing issues the world faces, attended previously by Meghan Markle, Emma Watson, Bob Geldof and Cher.
To launch, Harpic will announce that the toilets at the summit will not be available to use, before premiering their campaign film (available to view here: https://bit.ly/2RTtaRp). The stunt seeks to bring attention to the reality billions of people face and create a moment in which attendees realize that something we do every day looks very different for many people around the world.
Figures by the World Health Organization, UNICEF and International Telecommunications Union reveal that there are more people in the world with access to a mobile phone than a toilet. 1 in 3, that’s 2.3 billion people, do not have access to a toilet, with a staggering 892 million people defecating in the open; putting their health and safety at risk.
For billions of people, not having access to a toilet can be incredibly dangerous and comes with many risks, with nearly 1 million people being killed by water, sanitation, and hygiene-related diseases each year.
Women living without access to a toilet are twice as likely to experience sexual violence when defecating in the open, and along with their children, can spend hours each day finding a place to go. Time that could be spent at school and work.
