Meet Mr Poo - India's anti-public defecation mascot from Unicef

[jimmy olsen]

The music video is nuts!

I've definitely heard that the first thing you smell when you get off the plane is shit.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/meet-mr-poo--indias-antipublic-defecation-mascot-from-unicef-9263852.html

Meet Mr Poo - India's anti-public defecation mascot from Unicef

Meet Mr Poo: The lumpy, brown anthropomorphised faeces that is the face of Unicef's latest public health campaign in India.

Accompanied by an insanely catchy techno-Bollywood-style anthem, Mr Poo features in a very silly and surreal new video aimed at raising awareness of the health dangers associated with public defecation in India. Though the video is light-hearted; the issue is a serious one.

Globally, India has the largest number of people, more than 620 million, still defecating in the open. Only about half the population of the country use toilets.

According to the Poo2Loo campaign, which is supported by United Nations Children's Fund, 44 per cent of mothers in India dispose of their children's faeces in the open, meaning there is an extremely high risk of microbial contamination (bacteria, viruses, amoeba) of water - which can cause diarrhea in children.

Diarrhea makes children more vulnerable to malnutrition, stunting, and opportunistic infections such as pneumonia.

Mr Poo, who also features in his own smartphone app, released last month, is part of a brave campaign from Unicef, an organisation often reluctant to take a humourous or light-hearted approach to taboo public health subjects.

It has received a mixed reception since it began in January of this year. Some commenters beneath the video posted by Unicef India on YouTube described the campaign as 'degrading', with some criticising the use of English in the video and claiming that its target audience are likely to be already using toilets.

However, the video has received better responses on social media for making a serious and taboo subject accessible.

The video begins with a man sleeping in his bed as the accompanying song begins: "First thing in the morning, what do I see? A pile of sh*t staring at me." He is chased down the street by a collection of poos before the people of town build a giant toilet and flush the faeces away.

"Urban or rural, poo is all around us, in our playgrounds and outside our offices. If we're silent, we're contributors," Maria Fernandez, a Unicef campaign coordinator in India told the Wall Street Journal.

"And," she said, "the song is catchy. I wake up singing it."

[Eddie Teach]

Globally, India has the largest number of people, more than 620 million, still defecating in the open.

Yet Westerners still visit the place. Why?  Is it for the gang rape?

[MadBurgerMaker]

The Ganges is apparently just terribly disgusting.

[The Brain]

India's is a very rich culture.

[Grinning_Colossus]

Human shit smells much worse than dog shit and is really hard to get off of your shoes. The critics are right that people with smartphones and private bedrooms aren't the ones shitting outside, though, so this won't do much about it.

[CountDeMoney]

They are so ripping off Ed Anger, who started the "Mr. Poobody" anti-bidet shitting campaign years ago.

[Ed Anger]

They are so ripping off Ed Anger, who started the "Mr. Poobody" anti-bidet shitting campaign years ago.

I sent a strongly worded letter to the UN.

[DontSayBanana]

Ironically, the video about poo seems to have been made exclusively with Wii Miis.

[sbr]

I've heard when you get off a plane in India the first thing you smell is shit.

[alfred russel]

I watched the video, and since then have yet to shit anywhere other than a toilet. I guess it must be effective. India's shitting outside problems may be over!

[alfred russel]

Globally, India has the largest number of people, more than 620 million, still defecating in the open.

Yet Westerners still visit the place. Why?  Is it for the gang rape?

Queen Victoria considered it the crown jewel of her empire. 

[HVC]

The brown sapphire.

[Syt]

That the country hicks apparently poop everywhere is bad enough. Now keep in mind India's love for vegetarian and spicy food.

[The Brain]

Air India flights must be something else.

[CountDeMoney]

The brown sapphire.

That's no moon...