This article was picked up in many newspapers including The NST and Malaysian Insider, lending credence to this Bollywood superstar's popularity. It is good that he has done this as the issue of toilets is an important one and certainly in many parts of the world, millions are without proper toilets and the ramification is great.

It is sad that at this age and time and with so much wealth in the world, this is still a perennial problem faced by many. I certainly hope that with he will be able to garner support to tackle this issue effectively.

Until the next time, cheers.

Shah Rukh Khan leads life-saving toilet campaign

Shah Rukh Khan has been named a global ambassador for sanitation and hygiene as part of a United Nations-backed campaign.—AFP photo  

MUMBAI: Bollywood icon Shah Rukh Khan has joined a campaign to help cut thousands of easily-preventable deaths across the world through the provision of basic toilet facilities.

The 45-year-old star has been named a global ambassador for sanitation and hygiene as part of a United Nations-backed campaign to tackle diseases such as diarrhoea, which is the second-biggest killer of children worldwide.

“It is shameful and tragic that every 30 seconds a child dies from preventable diarrhoea —that’s two unnecessary child deaths per minute,” Khan said in a statement released on Monday.

“Toilets for all will make India and the world a healthier and cleaner place, particularly for poor women, girls and others at the margins of our societies,” he added.

Khan’s new role comes as specialists and non-governmental organisations working to improve public health gather in Mumbai this week at a Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC) conference.

Halving the number of people living without access to basic sanitation by 2015 is one of the eight Millennium Development Goals covering issues from poverty and hunger to education and tackling HIV/AIDS.

WSSCC executive director Jon Lane said Khan’s involvement would give “huge impetus to moving the agenda forward” amid fears that the target on improving sanitation would not be met.