Safe sanitation: Flushing poverty away

Like these activists at Berlin's central station, people around the world are taking action to promote better sanitation. One in three people worldwide doesn't have access to a clean, safe toilet. Poor hygiene leads to poor health; globally, poor sanitation kills more than malaria and measles combined. The lack of a toilet can keep people from going to school or work, and it hinders development.

Waterborne diseases such as typhoid and dysentery spread easily when people lack access to sanitary facilities. That was a problem in Kibera, one of Africa's largest slums, where residents tended to use "flying toilets" - that is, they'd defecate into a plastic bag and throw it away. But once toilet blocks like this one were built in the Nairobi shantytown, the incidence of disease dropped.

In parts of India without a sewage system many communities rely on "manual scavengers" - like this woman in the northern village of Mudali - to clean the waste from a dry latrine. Employing people to do this work has been banned for 20 years, but no employers have been convicted for it.

In crisis situations, emergency sanitation is a huge logistical challenge, with toilet queues often lasting for hours. As refugees arrive seeking safety in camps - like this one serving Somalis who have fled to Tunisia - the existing infrastructure, including clean water and sanitation facilities, is put under pressure.

Camps in the regions bordering Syria - like here, in Iraqi Kurdistan - are taking in thousands of refugees from the civil war every day. But the massive influx of people means some camps can't cope and cases of polio - a crippling disease spread via contaminated food and water - have emerged.

New solutions to water and sanitation shortages are being pioneered in El Alto, a village on the outskirts of the Bolivian capital, La Paz. Specially designed toilets separate waste which is then ecologically treated before it can be used as a fertilizer, which is then distributed free of charge among local farmers. It's also being used to maintain the lawn of a new soccer pitch.

Twenty million EU citizens do not have access to good sanitation. In rural Eastern Europe, for example, pit latrines are widespread. However, they pollute the water supply in villages that rely on wells for drinking water. In these regions, poor public health is a drag on economic development.

Basic sanitation is one of the most cost-effective ways to combat poverty. With support from the charity Toilet Twinning, 55-year-old Tirame Ayago got a latrine (visible in the background) for her rural Ethiopian household. It meant that the family, which had often been ill previously, can now spend the use money that once went for medicine on school fees.

In remote areas around the world, toilet facilities have to function without water, a sewer system or electricity. This toilet on Mount McKinley, Alaska, offers a panoramic view of North America’s highest mountain. Places like this inspired toilet enthusiast Luke Barclay, who travelled the world in search of special spots to do your business for his book "A Loo with a View."