Around the world in 45 toilets

Around the world in 45 toilets

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Some 2.4 billion people around the world don't have access to decent sanitation and more than a billion are forced to defecate in the open, risking disease and other dangers, according to the United Nations.

Launching its World Toilet Day campaign the UN said poor sanitation increases the risk of illness and malnutrition, especially for children, and called for women and girls in particular to be offered safe, clean facilities.

. Gorba, INDIA. Reuters/Adnan Abidi
An open toilet is seen in a field in Gorba in the eastern Indian state of Chhattisgarh.

"One out of three women around the world lack access to safe toilets," UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said in a statement. "As a result they face disease, shame and potential violence when they seek a place to defecate."

Even where there are toilets around the world, some hardly warrant the name.

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In a Syrian refugee settlement camp in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, for example, toilets surrounded by graffiti-covered corrugated sheet sit right up against flimsy tents. In the Marcory district of Abidjan, Ivory Coast, a "private" stall is simply built of spare bits of lumber and metal.

. Bekaa, LEBANON. Reuters/Jamal Saidi

The UN says that while there is sufficient fresh water on the planet for everyone, "bad economics and poor infrastructure" mean that every year millions of people - most of them children - die from diseases linked to poor sanitation, unhygienic living conditions and lack of clean water supplies.

"We have a moral imperative to end open defecation and a duty to ensure women and girls are not at risk of assault and rape simply because they lack a sanitation facility," Ban said.

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A toilet block stands in the White Sands National Monument park area near Alamogordo, New Mexico. The park's white sand dunes are composed of gypsum crystals.
. Alamogordo, UNITED STATES. Reuters/Shannon Stapleton

A toilet block stands in the White Sands National Monument park area near Alamogordo, New Mexico. The park's white sand dunes are composed of gypsum crystals.

A toilet floats on the river Nun near Yenagoa, Bayelsa state in Nigeria's delta region.
. Yenagoa, NIGERIA. Reuters/Akintunde Akinleye

A toilet floats on the river Nun near Yenagoa, Bayelsa state in Nigeria's delta region.

A toilet cubicle with glass walls stands in a fenced off garden at Itabu railway station in the Chiba prefecture east of Tokyo. Dubbed "the world's most spacious public toilet" by local media, the lady's outhouse is a glass cubicle with a fully functioning toilet that stands in a  garden. The high fence surrounding the toilet can be locked from the inside.
. Tokyo, JAPAN. Reuters/Thomas Peter

A toilet cubicle with glass walls stands in a fenced off garden at Itabu railway station in the Chiba prefecture east of Tokyo. Dubbed "the world's most spacious public toilet" by local media, the lady's outhouse is a glass cubicle with a fully functioning toilet that stands in a garden. The high fence surrounding the toilet can be locked from the inside.

A public toilet made of rusty sheets of metal stands in Gatwekera village in Kibera slums in Nairobi, Kenya.
. Nairobi, KENYA. Reuters/Thomas Mukoya

A public toilet made of rusty sheets of metal stands in Gatwekera village in Kibera slums in Nairobi, Kenya.

A public toilet stands surrounded by snow near the 2011 Applied Physics Laboratory Ice Station north of Prudhoe Bay, Alaska.
. Prudhoe Bay, UNITED STATES. Reuters/Lucas Jackson

A public toilet stands surrounded by snow near the 2011 Applied Physics Laboratory Ice Station north of Prudhoe Bay, Alaska.

Men’s public toilet designed by Jade Jagger, daughter of Rolling Stones lead singer Mick Jagger is seen in Oscar Freire street in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
. Sao Paulo, BRAZIL. Reuters/Nacho Doce

Men’s public toilet designed by Jade Jagger, daughter of Rolling Stones lead singer Mick Jagger is seen in Oscar Freire street in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

The entrance to toilets is reflected in a mirror in the lobby of Yanggakdo International Hotel in Pyongyang, North Korea. Foreign tourists to Pyongyang usually stay at the hotel.
. Pyongyang, NORTH KOREA. Reuters/Damir Sagolj

The entrance to toilets is reflected in a mirror in the lobby of Yanggakdo International Hotel in Pyongyang, North Korea. Foreign tourists to Pyongyang usually stay at the hotel.

Plants grow in front of a public toilet in Tbilisi, Georgia.
. Tbilisi, GEORGIA. Reuters/David Mdzinarishvili

Plants grow in front of a public toilet in Tbilisi, Georgia.

A migrant uses a field as a toilet at the Greek-Macedonian border near the Greek village of Idomeni.
. Idomeni, GREECE. Reuters/Yannis Behrakis

A migrant uses a field as a toilet at the Greek-Macedonian border near the Greek village of Idomeni.

The first light of dawn illuminates Mount Everest as the moon shines above and a toilet block is seen in the foreground in the Tibet Autonomous Region.
. Mount Everest, CHINA. Reuters/David Gray

The first light of dawn illuminates Mount Everest as the moon shines above and a toilet block is seen in the foreground in the Tibet Autonomous Region.

A domestic toilet is seen inside a house in Lalitpur, Nepal.
. Lalitpur, NEPAL. Reuters/Navesh Chitrakar

A domestic toilet is seen inside a house in Lalitpur, Nepal.

A cross hangs outside the toilet in Torreto Barbershop in Frankfurt, Germany. The toilet is used by the visitors and shop owner, Alex "Torreto" Velios who lives and works at his shop.
. Hanau, GERMANY. Reuters/Kai Pfaffenbach

A cross hangs outside the toilet in Torreto Barbershop in Frankfurt, Germany. The toilet is used by the visitors and shop owner, Alex "Torreto" Velios who lives and works at his shop.

A toilet stands in the middle of an empty field on the outskirts of Santiago, Chile.
. Santiago, CHILE. Reuters/Ivan Alvarado

A toilet stands in the middle of an empty field on the outskirts of Santiago, Chile.

A toilet sign is seen in front of the Sphinx at the Giza Pyramids on the outskirts of Cairo, Egypt.
. Cairo, EGYPT. Reuters/Amr Abdallah Dalsh

A toilet sign is seen in front of the Sphinx at the Giza Pyramids on the outskirts of Cairo, Egypt.

Public toilets are seen in Eidsvolls Plass in Oslo, Norway.
. Oslo, NORWAY. Reuters/Russell Boyce

Public toilets are seen in Eidsvolls Plass in Oslo, Norway.

Urinals inspired by the Rolling Stones lips and tongue logo are seen in a bar in Paris.
. Paris, FRANCE. Reuters/Jacky Naegelen

Urinals inspired by the Rolling Stones lips and tongue logo are seen in a bar in Paris.

Temporary toilets stand in front of shacks in Khayelitsha township, Cape Town.
. Cape Town, SOUTH AFRICA. Reuters/Mike Hutchings

Temporary toilets stand in front of shacks in Khayelitsha township, Cape Town.

Writing which reads "No urinating!" is seen on a wall street in Hanoi, Vietnam.
. Hanoi, VIETNAM. Reuters/Kham

Writing which reads "No urinating!" is seen on a wall street in Hanoi, Vietnam.

A toilet is seen in a hostel for asylum seekers in Augsburg in Germany.
. Augsburg, GERMANY. Reuters/Michaela Rehle

A toilet is seen in a hostel for asylum seekers in Augsburg in Germany.

A toilet is seen inside a master bedroom at a residential flat in Hong Kong.
. Hong Kong, CHINA. Reuters/Bobby Yip

A toilet is seen inside a master bedroom at a residential flat in Hong Kong.

A mobile toilet van is parked in Nepal.
. Kathmandu, NEPAL. Reuters/Navesh Chitrakar

A mobile toilet van is parked in Nepal.

Towels hang on a radiator next to a toilet in an apartment in Beijing's central business district.
. Beijing, CHINA. Reuters/Jason Lee

Towels hang on a radiator next to a toilet in an apartment in Beijing's central business district.

A one-way mirror is seen above the urinal at Streeter's Tavern in Chicago. Customers using the the bathroom can see into the main area of the bar, but cannot be seen by the people at the bar.
. Chicago, UNITED STATES. Reuters/Jim Young

A one-way mirror is seen above the urinal at Streeter's Tavern in Chicago. Customers using the the bathroom can see into the main area of the bar, but cannot be seen by the people at the bar.

A surfboard rests against an old toilet shed, also known in Australia as a 'dunny' or an 'outhouse', in the backyard of a home in the northern beaches suburb of Manly in Sydney.
. Sydney, AUSTRALIA. Reuters/David Gray

A surfboard rests against an old toilet shed, also known in Australia as a 'dunny' or an 'outhouse', in the backyard of a home in the northern beaches suburb of Manly in Sydney.

A woman passes near the entrance to a toilet in a makeshift shelter used by a Palestinian family in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip.
. Khan Younis, PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES. Reuters/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa

A woman passes near the entrance to a toilet in a makeshift shelter used by a Palestinian family in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip.

Chemical toilets are lined up in downtown Rome.
. Rome, ITALY. Reuters/Tony Gentile

Chemical toilets are lined up in downtown Rome.

A makeshift shower cabin and toilet are seen atop a deserted hotel, where hundreds of migrants found temporary shelter on the Greek island of Kos.
. Kos, GREECE. Reuters/Yannis Behrakis

A makeshift shower cabin and toilet are seen atop a deserted hotel, where hundreds of migrants found temporary shelter on the Greek island of Kos.

A dog runs past a bar toilet in the Turano slum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
. Rio De Janeiro, BRAZIL. Reuters/Sergio Moraes

A dog runs past a bar toilet in the Turano slum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Graffiti is painted on the bathroom walls at a restaurant in the Williamsburg area of Brooklyn borough in New York.
. New York, UNITED STATES. Reuters/Shannon Stapleton

Graffiti is painted on the bathroom walls at a restaurant in the Williamsburg area of Brooklyn borough in New York.

Public toilets are seen at Azraq refugee camp near Al Azraq city, Jordan.
. Azraq, JORDAN. Reuters/Muhammad Hamed

Public toilets are seen at Azraq refugee camp near Al Azraq city, Jordan.

A toilet with a view of the Pacific Ocean is seen at Huntley Hotel in Santa Monica, California.
. Santa Monica, UNITED STATES. Reuters/Lucy Nicholson

A toilet with a view of the Pacific Ocean is seen at Huntley Hotel in Santa Monica, California.

A domestic toilet is seen in a house in Mexico City.
. Mexico City, MEXICO. Reuters/Henry Romero risking disease and other dangers according to the United Nations. The UN says that while there is sufficient fresh water on the planet for everyone "bad economics and poor infrastructure" mean that every year millions of people - most of them children - die from diseases linked to poor sanitation unhygienic living conditions and lack of clean water supplies. To mark World Toilet Day on November 19 Reuters photographers captured pictures of toilets in cities towns and villages around the globe. PICTURE 36 OF 45 FOR WIDER IMAGE STORY: "AROUND THE WORLD IN 45 TOILETS" SEARCH "REUTERS OUTHOUSE" FOR ALL IMAGES

A domestic toilet is seen in a house in Mexico City.

A toilet stands outside the Llamocca family home at Villa Lourdes in Villa Maria del Triunfo on the outskirts of Lima, Peru. There is no running water in Villa Lourdes and families buy it from water tankers once a week.
. Lima, PERU. Reuters/Mariana Bazo

A toilet stands outside the Llamocca family home at Villa Lourdes in Villa Maria del Triunfo on the outskirts of Lima, Peru. There is no running water in Villa Lourdes and families buy it from water tankers once a week.

An outdoor toilet is seen in the Marcory district of Abidjan, Ivory Coast. The notice on the left reads "Strangers prohibited from using this toilet," while sign on the right reads "Pissing prohibited."
. Abidjan, COTE D'IVOIRE. Reuters/Thierry Gouegnon

An outdoor toilet is seen in the Marcory district of Abidjan, Ivory Coast. The notice on the left reads "Strangers prohibited from using this toilet," while sign on the right reads "Pissing prohibited."

The mens public toilet is seen at Snaresbrook underground station in London.
. London, United Kingdom. Reuters/Russell Boyce

The mens public toilet is seen at Snaresbrook underground station in London.

A public toilet is seen in London Fields in east London.
. London, United Kingdom. Reuters/Marika Kochiashvili

A public toilet is seen in London Fields in east London.

A cash register sits on a table in a ladies public toilet in Algiers, Algeria.
. Algiers, ALGERIA. Reuters/Zohra Bensemra

A cash register sits on a table in a ladies public toilet in Algiers, Algeria.

The entrance to a public toilet with escalator ramps is seen in Istanbul.
. Istanbul, TURKEY. Reuters/Murad Sezer

The entrance to a public toilet with escalator ramps is seen in Istanbul.

Newspapers lie on a toilet seat in a house in Mandalay, Myanmar.
. Mandalay, MYANMAR. Reuters/Jorge Silva

Newspapers lie on a toilet seat in a house in Mandalay, Myanmar.

A toilet stands in a field on private property in the town of Yuzhno-Kurilsk on Kunashir Island which is part of the Kuril Islands group in Russia.
. Yuzhno-Kurilsk, RUSSIA. Reuters/Thomas Peter

A toilet stands in a field on private property in the town of Yuzhno-Kurilsk on Kunashir Island which is part of the Kuril Islands group in Russia.

A sheltered pit latrine stands in a low-income neighbourhood in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.
. Ciudad Juarez, MEXICO. Reuters/Jose Luis Gonzalez

A sheltered pit latrine stands in a low-income neighbourhood in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.

A damaged toilet stands amidst rubble in the town of Douma in eastern Ghouta of Damascus.
. Damascus, SYRIA. Reuters/Bassam Khabieh

A damaged toilet stands amidst rubble in the town of Douma in eastern Ghouta of Damascus.