On World Toilet Day (19 November), a new poll commissioned by Tearfund sheds light on the toilet habits of UK Christians. The survey, run by Savanta, reveals a generational divide: over half of older christians (56%) would rather endure discomfort than use the loo during a service, while the younger generations are more willing to miss a part of the service to go (29%)*.
Everyone needs access to a toilet, even at the most awkward times… like during a church service! Yet, 1.5 billion people worldwide still lack safe, clean sanitation. This World Toilet Day, we are urging UK Christians to help flush away this issue by twinning their toilets and transforming lives in communities globally.
In Malawi, 53-year-old Leah Suliwa's life was drastically impacted by the lack of access to decent toilets in her village. Before Tearfund's partner intervened, the community was plagued by constant illness, including cholera and dysentery, which tragically led to the deaths of some of her family members.
Leah says, ‘Life here was tough and stressful due to the lack of organisation regarding sanitation and hygiene issues. We didn’t have toilets. It was rare to see one. We would just go by the bush and use it as a toilet…’
Tearfund's partner advised families on the importance of handwashing, having a toilet with a washable floor and a lock to provide safety and privacy.
Leah continues, ‘I don’t have to worry about people randomly entering the latrine while I am using it, as I lock myself inside and freely use the toilet. If someone attempts to open it, they will find it locked as I use the toilet.’
Stuart Lee, Tearfund’s director of global fundraising and communications says: ‘The global sanitation crisis demands urgent action. People are falling sick and dying purely due to lack of access to clean water and adequate sanitation. Tragically, a thousand children die every day from diseases directly linked to unsafe water, sanitation or hygiene. Everyone deserves a safe, private toilet, and through a simple act like twinning toilets, UK Christians can make a tangible difference for those in desperate need.’
For more information about Toilet Twinning, or to twin your toilet, please visit www.toilettwinning.org.
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For further information please contact Maddie Gordon, 07783770487 or [email protected]. For out of hours media enquiries please call 07710 573749 or email [email protected].
Notes to editors
- Toilet Twinning is a Tearfund owned product, funding Tearfund's Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Projects.
- Tearfund's partner, AG Care in Malawi, advises families on the importance of handwashing and having a clean toilet. They have also built school toilet blocks and trained school committees on how to keep the facilities safe and clean.
- Tearfund is a Christian charity that partners with churches in more than 50 of the world’s poorest countries. We tackle poverty through sustainable development, responding to disasters and challenging injustice. We believe an end to extreme poverty is possible. Tearfund is also a member of the Disasters Emergency Committee. For more information about the work of Tearfund, please visit www.tearfund.org.
- The UN’s theme for World Toilet Day 2025 is ‘We’ll Always Need the Toilet’, reflecting, ‘In a changing world, one thing is constant: we’ll always need the toilet. No matter what lies ahead, we will always rely on sanitation to protect us from diseases and keep our environment clean. Today, billions of people still live without a safe toilet – with the poorest, especially women and girls, worst affected.’
- *Savanta interviewed a nationally representative audience of 1,095 Christians between 15-16th November 2025. Savanta is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules. Full data available on request.
- ‘Older christians’ include: Gen X, Boomers and the Silent Generation. ‘Younger christians’ include: Gen Z and Millennials. Each older generation was over 50%. Whilst the younger generation were 29%. A statistically significant difference between the generations.
- Statistics on global access to toilets from WHO.
