The United Nations points out that sanitation "stands out as one of the critical areas where we are falling way, way behind" in efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The statistics are staggering: some 2.6 billion people worldwide -- roughly two out of every five -- lack access to basic sanitation. Of that total, about 960 million are children, according to UNICEF. In November 2007, the UN will formally launch the International Year of Sanitation. Coinciding with the event, the Seoul-based World Toilet Association (WTA) is hosting a major international conference. The MDGs call for a 50-percent reduction in the number of people living without adequate sanitation or toilets, and the WTA is asking for "a new toilet culture and a toilet revolution."