The promise came as hundreds of participants from 19 countries attended the 2nd World Toilet Expo & Forum, which started yesterday in Bangkok.

Authorities launched a cleanup campaign after more than 6,000 public toilets were checked in 12 provinces in March - and 90 per cent were found to be unclean, Health Minister Dr Mongkol na Songkhla said yesterday.

Public lavatories were found to lack toilet paper or a spray hose often used in rural areas. Few facilities had soap for cleaning hands.

A second round of checks this month found that about 70 per cent of public toilets were dirty, but the authorities hoped that 60 per cent would meet world standards of cleanliness by next year, Mongkol said. Inspections also found the majority of restrooms weren't accessible to handicapped people, and didn't pass safety standards that require separate male and female bathrooms, he said.

Efforts would focus on cleaning up washrooms at Buddhist temples.

Dr Narongsakdi Aungkasu-vapala, director of the Department of Health, said the ministry had begun to certify toilets at certain restaurants that were clean and safe to use.

People wanting to use a public bathroom were now advised to look for a "happy toilet" sign, which indicates restrooms certified by the ministry, he said.

Unclean public toilets were a huge source for spreading disease, Narongsakdi said. Hepatitis B and even bird flu could spread through poor hygiene and sanitation.

Jack Sim, founder of the World Toilet Organisation, said toilets had improved considerably since his organisation was established in Singapore five years ago.

"Not so long ago, the toilet was an embarrassing subject to talk about. That was when toilets were still sources of health problems in many countries."

The toilet organisation now has 54 groups in 41 countries, said Sim, adding that they were working to bolster public access to clean toilets, particularly in rural areas.

The Singapore Red Cross had given the toilet organisation Bt25 billion for a scheme to build and clean toilets, and lift sanitation standards, in the tsunami-affected areas in Indonesia's Aceh, he said.

Last year the group established the so-called World Toilet College to build capacity and train more practitioners in the field. The courses provided include training for "restroom specialists" and "design and ecological sanitation".

The three-day conference, which ends tomorrow, is aimed at getting international experts and academics to discuss new studies about toilets and health.

Arthit Khwankhom

The Nation, Associated Press