Make an extra donation to save more lives

How would you rate your overall experience of scanning the QR code on our packaging, including the website it took you to?

We use cookies (and similar techniques) to improve your experience on our site. Cookies enable you to enjoy certain features (like saving your online "shopping basket"), social sharing functionality (for Facebook, Instagram, etc.) and to tailor messages and to display ads to your interests (on our site, and others). They also help us understand how our site is being used. Read our

Accessibility

Privacy notice

Site map

Terms of use

Contact us

Cookie policy

Saving lives together

Before Virendra, 14, finally got a toilet he was missing school at least once a month through sickness. Not content with getting a toilet for his own home, Virendra is on a mission to deliver the life-saving message of better sanitation for his whole community

Virendra is one of millions of children helped by the Domestos and UNICEF partnership. We trained teachers and pupils to champion building toilets both at school and home. 

How toilets transform lives

Help us make an even bigger difference

Here we celebrate a few of the 28 million people we’ve helped so far, and we’re not stopping there as Domestos looks towards its new 100 million target.

Domestos and UNICEF have shown that together we can help save and change lives. It’s not just about building toilets, it’s about behaviour change and the development of sustainable, community-led approaches to sanitation and hygiene in schools, public places and homes.

See how your support helps whole communities

Why we need to help

Before Kokila and Kashish had a toilet at home, they had to walk long distances, in the dark, concerned about their safety. Now, they can look ahead to a brighter, healthier future.

Would you want your daughter to have to go to the toilet outside? With help from the partnership between Domestos and UNICEF this is something Kokila no longer has to worry about.

Kokila and Kashish

Pankaj, the headteacher, has seen the benefits first-hand: ‘The children’s attendance has increased, and our teachers see a positive difference with improved academic performance of the children.’

When schools have safer toilets, children have fewer sick days. The Domestos and UNICEF partnership provided access to clean, safe toilets, alongside sanitation and hygiene education for schools like Goth Mahudi primary school.

School of Dreams

The pandemic has unearthed the long-lasting and deep-rooted water crisis. Handwashing hygiene is the first line of defence against COVID-19 and has been consistently promoted across the globe as the primary preventative measure. Yet, in the 60 countries identified as the highest risk of health and humanitarian crises due to the virus, 2 out of 3 people – 1 billion people in total – lack basic handwashing facilities with soap and water at home. Around half are children.

Before COVID-19, children under 5 living in conflict were more than 20 times more likely to die from diseases linked to unsafe water and sanitation than from direct violence.

The report warns that the water crisis in FCAS – combined with COVID-19 – will lead to impacts of a devastating magnitude for children. The future of children living in FCAS is at an even greater risk now.

Our new report, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene in Fragile and Conflict-Affected States: How the UK Government can tackle the water crisis, highlights how COVID-19 is exacerbating existing challenges for children living in fragile and conflict-affected states (FCAS).

The water crisis in fragile contexts

Growing up in a clean and safe environment is every child’s right. Access to clean water, basic toilets, and good hygiene practices not only keeps children thriving, but also gives them a healthier start in life. Despite COVID-19 putting the spotlight on the importance of hand hygiene to prevent the spread of disease, three billion people worldwide, including hundreds of millions of school-going children, do not have access to handwashing facilities with soap. People living in rural areas, urban slums, disaster-prone areas and low-income countries are the most vulnerable and the most affected. 

- Worldwide, 2.2 billion people still lack access to safe drinking water. 

- More than half of the global population does not have access to safe sanitation. 

- Three billion people do not have access to 

- Still, 673 million people practice open defecation. 

The consequences of unsafe water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) on children can be deadly. Over 700 children under age 5 die every day of diarrhoeal diseases due to lack of appropriate WASH services. In areas of conflict, children are nearly 20 times more likely to die from diarrhoeal disease than from the conflict itself.

Safe water, toilets and good hygiene keep children alive and healthy.

Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)

For children to grow up healthy and happy, they need access to clean water, proper sanitation, and good hygiene. Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) are basic human rights, that UNICEF is working to uphold for every child. 

It’s about health – a lack of these things causes diseases that kill over 800 children every day. It’s about time – millions of children miss out on an education because they spend hours every day collecting water. And it’s about fairness – the most vulnerable children are often the worst affected. 

UNICEF is determined to change this. We’re working with governments in more than 113 countries to build WASH systems that last. We lead the response in emergencies, coordinating humanitarian organisations and governments, to provide life-saving supplies and support. And as our climate changes, we’re helping communities to be prepared for future challenges.