Lack of public toilets and open defecation were among issues highlighted at the World Toilet Summit that opened in Indonesia today.

Worldwide, 2.5 billion people have no access to toilets and sewage systems. One million children die each year from diarrhoea, as many as from AIDS, measles and malaria combined, according to the United Nations.

In Indonesia, 63 million people practice open defecation because they have no access to basic sanitation facilities, said Naning Adiwoso, chairperson of the Indonesian Toilet Association.

“For many people in Indonesia, mobile phones are more important than toilets,” Adiwoso said. “People defecate in the backyards and think that nature will take its course.”

“There’s a widespread lack of awareness about the importance of sanitation,” she said.

At the three-day summit in the Central Java city of Solo, speakers will talk about how to clean, repair and maintain toilets as well as the designs of public restrooms.

Adiwoso said in Jakarta some households do not have toilets and public restrooms are hard to find.

“There are hardly any toilet maps in Jakarta and the few public toilets are in terrible condition,” she said.

Jack Sim, a Singaporean who founded the World Toilet Organisation in 2001, said the theme for the summit this year is ‘Toilets and Tourism’.

“Without good toilets, tourism can’t thrive,” he said. “Toilets are part of the holiday experience.”

- dpa