MOST people don't like to talk about toilets, but at WaterAid we'd like more people to spare a thought for the toilet on this year's World Toilet Day on November 19.

Could you imagine not having a toilet? What if for one day only, no-one in the UK had a toilet - it's pretty unthinkable isn't it? Yet for 2.6 billion people in the world having no toilet is a daily reality.

Children are literally dying for the toilet, in the developing world a child dies every 15 seconds from water-related diseases.

WaterAid is the UK's only major charity dedicated exclusively to the provision of safe domestic water, sanitation and hygiene education to the world's poorest people. For just £15 WaterAid provides someone with safe water, sanitation and hygiene education.

I invite you to consider how vital toilets are, spare a thought and maybe even a penny for two-fifths of the world's population who have to live without the basic necessity of somewhere safe to go to the toilet.

To see how WaterAid is making a difference go to www.wateraid.org

BARBARA FROST Chief Executive, WaterAid