| Tuesday, 27 April 2010 | |
 There has been news reporting about the diarrhoea outbreak in Mid and Far Western districts this year claiming 16 lives and sickening 300 people so far. Despite the government’s commitment to control the spread of diarrhoea, it appears that the districts will witness the spread of diarrhea this year too. Last year, diarrhoea claimed 400 lives throughout the country and killed 250 people in Jajarkot alone. (Source: Nagarik, April 25, 2010).The snail-paced progress in implementing the relief and prevention measures announced by the government last year has prompted concerns that another epidemic cannot be discounted. The Ministry of Physical Planning and Works has announced that 5,000 lavatories will be constructed in Rukum and Jajarkot — the regions badly hit by diarrhoea and cholera last year — by mid-June this year. (Source: The Himalayan Times, April 20, 2010). The ministry had announced construction of toilets in the areas last year and was supposed to complete within three months of announcement of the project. But, there was delay in toilet construction as it took time for the project to be approved by the higher-ups told the concerned officials. A high-ranking official of Epidemiology and Disease Control Division told that the preventable disease can turn into an epidemic if awareness campaigns and water disinfection programmes are not launched in the diarrhoea-affected areas at the earliest. However, the diarrhoea-hit areas are yet to witness any kind of campaign. So, in order to draw the attention of concerned authorities to take immediate actions to control the disease and launch massive public awareness on WATSAN, NGO Forum for Urban Water and Sanitation is planning to have a discussion programme with the civil society, I/NGOs and stakeholders. We have proposed the first week of May for the discussion and planning. Please kindly confirm your availability for the programme at; |
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Let act to stop diarrhoea in Jajarkot
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Health Care Waste Management
Sunday, 12 April 2009 19:00
The various types of wastes are generated within the hospital in the operation of various processes. Out of the total wastes produced 80-90% of the waste does not pose any risk and it is similar to domestic wastes. However other 10-20% of waste with greater risk is termed as health care waste/Bio-medical waste. The health care waste contains infectious material and hazardous substance which passes a risk not only to the health care providers and the sick, but also to the waste handlers and cause harm to the environment.
A hospital where hazardous waste is not properly managed, cannot give a quality services to the patient. The government should have an adequate frame work to address the issue on a national level. Realizing this need, National Health Research Council (NHRC) has come up with “National Health Care Waste Management (HCWM) guidelines in may 2002 with the support of WHO. The number of hospitals, private nursing homes, health care centers and health post has increased over the last decade. This ever increasing health care institutions and improper handling of medical wastes have posed a serious threat to the urban dwellers, especially in Kathmandu where the generations of medical wastes is very high. So far there is no separate mechanism for the treatment of medical waste. Both the medical waste and general household waste are being finally treated together as municipal waste. The mismanagement of infectious waste and irresponsibility of medical facilities can cause a major public and occupational health hazard, resulting in the spread of infectious diseases like HIV/AIDS and hepatitis B.
Proper management of HCW can prevent cross infection and spreads of infectious disease. Unfortunately, this aspect is completely ignored in most of the health care institutions in our country. In many cases, waste handling is left to lower level of workers who carry on this job without any training, guidance and even supervision. Lack of proper legislation commitment and dedication by the management position, lack of proper financial resources and training facilities are the sole reasons for the pathetic health care waste management issue in the developing countries.
(Source:www.healthnewsnepal.com)
WATSAN Media Fellowship Award 2009
Kathmandu, 31 March: Water and sanitation (WATSAN), which were considered as developmental issues, are nowadays treated as basic right by most of the stakeholders and sector players of Nepal and other countries.
Nepal has targeted to reduce the population deprived from safe drinking water and proper sanitation to half by 2015 to meet the Millennium Development Goal at local level. Similarly, the country has targeted to provide proper WATSAN facilities to all by 2017 in its National goal.
The government and non-governmental organizations involved on WATSAN in
Nepal are also working consistently to expand WATSAN services and increase coverage of safe drinking water and proper sanitation facilities in the country so that deprived population and communities could be benefited with adequate and quality WATSAN services.
In this context, various media of Nepal are also expressing their solidarity in this national campaign, and disseminating WATSAN related news and issues regularly. It has helped WATSAN to gain remarkable space in the current media of Nepal, and has supported in raising awareness on WATSAN at different levels.
Considering this contribution, Ministry of Physical Planning and Works under the
Government of Nepal, and UN-HABITAT’s Water for Asian Cities Nepal in association with Guthi jointly organized the WATSAN Media Fellowship Award in Nepal to encourage the journalists to continue their contribution in WATSAN sector in days ahead.
At the beginning, an announcement of the WATSAN Media Fellowship Award was made in which the journalists were called to submit their proposal with their previous works in WATSAN issues.
A 7-member jury panel was formed, which comprises experts in journalism and WATSAN to make the selection process impartial and transparent. On the basis of the previous works of the journalists competing for the fellowship award, the panel declared ten journalists as the winners. Among them, five were from different national newspapers, two from FM Radio and three from television channels.
The fellowship award has been expected to be helpful in initiating research based media reporting which in turn contributes in dissemination of accurate and credible information among the public and policy makers. These initiatives can also be effective and efficient to bring local initiatives in a wider spectrum. It has also been expected to build and foster sustainable relation of the sector players with media in the country.
Sunday, 12 April 2009 19:00
The various types of wastes are generated within the hospital in the operation of various processes. Out of the total wastes produced 80-90% of the waste does not pose any risk and it is similar to domestic wastes. However other 10-20% of waste with greater risk is termed as health care waste/Bio-medical waste. The health care waste contains infectious material and hazardous substance which passes a risk not only to the health care providers and the sick, but also to the waste handlers and cause harm to the environment.
A hospital where hazardous waste is not properly managed, cannot give a quality services to the patient. The government should have an adequate frame work to address the issue on a national level. Realizing this need, National Health Research Council (NHRC) has come up with “National Health Care Waste Management (HCWM) guidelines in may 2002 with the support of WHO. The number of hospitals, private nursing homes, health care centers and health post has increased over the last decade. This ever increasing health care institutions and improper handling of medical wastes have posed a serious threat to the urban dwellers, especially in Kathmandu where the generations of medical wastes is very high. So far there is no separate mechanism for the treatment of medical waste. Both the medical waste and general household waste are being finally treated together as municipal waste. The mismanagement of infectious waste and irresponsibility of medical facilities can cause a major public and occupational health hazard, resulting in the spread of infectious diseases like HIV/AIDS and hepatitis B.
Proper management of HCW can prevent cross infection and spreads of infectious disease. Unfortunately, this aspect is completely ignored in most of the health care institutions in our country. In many cases, waste handling is left to lower level of workers who carry on this job without any training, guidance and even supervision. Lack of proper legislation commitment and dedication by the management position, lack of proper financial resources and training facilities are the sole reasons for the pathetic health care waste management issue in the developing countries.
(Source:www.healthnewsnepal.com)
WATSAN Media Fellowship Award 2009
Kathmandu, 31 March: Water and sanitation (WATSAN), which were considered as developmental issues, are nowadays treated as basic right by most of the stakeholders and sector players of Nepal and other countries.
Nepal has targeted to reduce the population deprived from safe drinking water and proper sanitation to half by 2015 to meet the Millennium Development Goal at local level. Similarly, the country has targeted to provide proper WATSAN facilities to all by 2017 in its National goal.
The government and non-governmental organizations involved on WATSAN in
Nepal are also working consistently to expand WATSAN services and increase coverage of safe drinking water and proper sanitation facilities in the country so that deprived population and communities could be benefited with adequate and quality WATSAN services.
In this context, various media of Nepal are also expressing their solidarity in this national campaign, and disseminating WATSAN related news and issues regularly. It has helped WATSAN to gain remarkable space in the current media of Nepal, and has supported in raising awareness on WATSAN at different levels.
Considering this contribution, Ministry of Physical Planning and Works under the
Government of Nepal, and UN-HABITAT’s Water for Asian Cities Nepal in association with Guthi jointly organized the WATSAN Media Fellowship Award in Nepal to encourage the journalists to continue their contribution in WATSAN sector in days ahead.
At the beginning, an announcement of the WATSAN Media Fellowship Award was made in which the journalists were called to submit their proposal with their previous works in WATSAN issues.
A 7-member jury panel was formed, which comprises experts in journalism and WATSAN to make the selection process impartial and transparent. On the basis of the previous works of the journalists competing for the fellowship award, the panel declared ten journalists as the winners. Among them, five were from different national newspapers, two from FM Radio and three from television channels.
The fellowship award has been expected to be helpful in initiating research based media reporting which in turn contributes in dissemination of accurate and credible information among the public and policy makers. These initiatives can also be effective and efficient to bring local initiatives in a wider spectrum. It has also been expected to build and foster sustainable relation of the sector players with media in the country.
Saturday, April 10, 2010
जाजरकोटमा खानेपानी अभाव(स्रोत : इ-कांतिपुर.कम )
भीमबहादुर सिंह
जाजरकोट, चैत्र २९ - जाजरकोटको सदरमुकाम खलंगामा खानेपानीको हाहाकार भएको छ । गर्मी मौसमसागै पानीका मुहान सुक्दै गएपछि खानेपानीको हाहाकार भएको हो । नियमित पानी आपूर्ति नहूदा स्थानीय तीन घण्टा टाढा रहेको खोलाबाट खानेपानी बोकेर ल्याउन बाध्य छन् ।
लामो समयदेखि बषर्ा नहूदा सुख्खा तथा गर्मी मौसम र बनजङ्गल विनासका कारण पानीका मुहान सुकेका हुन् । सदरमुकामका झण्डै १२ हजार सर्वसाधारण ,नेपाली सेना , प्रहरी र निजामती कर्मचारीलाई समेत पिउने पानीको अभावले सताएको छ ।
सदरमुकाम चुचुरोमा भएकोले नजिक कतैपनि पानीका मुल छैनन् । खानेपानीको हाहाकार भएका स्थानहरुमा थाप्ले , थाप्लेचौर , पिपलडाडा , काजीबारा , बाहुनबारा , गैरीखाली , रानागाउ , बोरा , स्याला , कालेगाउ ,राउतगाउ लगाएत रहेका छन् । ती स्थानहरुमा एक गाग्री पिउने पानी पाउनै ग्राह्रो छ । नुहाउने तथा कपडा धुने कार्यका लागि भेरी नदीको किनारामा जानुपर्ने बाध्यता छ ।
बीस बर्ष अगाडि निर्माण गरीएको सदरमुकामको खानेपानी आपुर्तीको योजना हालको जनसंख्याको अनुपातमा निकै कम भएको छ । बर्षे सिजनमा करीब २ लाख ५० हजार लिटर पानी आपूर्ति हुने सदरमुकाममा यतिबेला १ लाख ५० हजार लिटर पनि आपुर्ती हुन सक्दैन उपभोक्ता समितिका अध्यक्ष शिब प्रसाद शर्माले बताए ।
सदरमुकामको लागि पिउने पानीको मुहान नजिक नभएको स्थानीय चिन्तित बन्दै गएका छन् । हाल आपूर्ती भैरहेको पानीको मुहान खलंगादेखि झण्डै ५ किलो मीटर टाढा रहेको छ ।
सदरमुकाममा प्रयाप्त पानी आपूर्तीका १५ किलोमीटर टाढाको मुहानबाट पानी ल्याउन बृहत खानेपानी योजना लागु गनुृपर्ने र जुन जिल्ला खानेपानीको काबुमा नभएको जिल्ला खानेपानी कार्यालयका ईन्जिनियर सीताराम काफ्लेले भने ।
Govt cautions about summer epidemic outbreak
Sunday, 04 April 2010
Kathmandu: The government has cautioned the general public against their carelessness in sanitation and food habits for the fear that an epidemic might outbreak in summer. Pranay Kumar Upadhyaya, senior pubic health officer at Epidemiology and Disease Control Division said that the ministry is on high alert to tackle any possible epidemic outbreak in this season.
“The distribution of essential medicines and other equipment has been completed nationwide. We have allocated more budget and medicines to 16 districts that had been severely affected by diarrhoea last year,” informed Upadhyaya. Around 366 persons died during mid-April to mid-October last year as per the record of the government. However, the NGO’s record claims the death toll to have reached 394. The ministry has also formed Community Rapid Response Team (CRRT) in the most vulnerable 20 districts in remote areas to provide immediate response this year. There are 75 District Rapid Response Team nationwide.
Talking to The Himalayan Times, Upadhyaya informed that the team would be mobilized as per the need of the area and would give the first hand service to the victims. MoHP posted around 150 doctors last month in the remote places. Saroj Prasad Rajendra, chief of Sahid Sukraraj Tropical Hospital at Teku said that they had recorded the growing number of patients as soon as the summer started. “The simple way to keep the diseases like diarrhoea, dysentery, typhoid, and jaundice at bay is to drink safe water and follow hygienic habit,” added Rajendra.
(Source: The Himalayan Times, April 4, 2010)
India: Bollywood actor to teach hygiene to school kidsभीमबहादुर सिंह
जाजरकोट, चैत्र २९ - जाजरकोटको सदरमुकाम खलंगामा खानेपानीको हाहाकार भएको छ । गर्मी मौसमसागै पानीका मुहान सुक्दै गएपछि खानेपानीको हाहाकार भएको हो । नियमित पानी आपूर्ति नहूदा स्थानीय तीन घण्टा टाढा रहेको खोलाबाट खानेपानी बोकेर ल्याउन बाध्य छन् ।
लामो समयदेखि बषर्ा नहूदा सुख्खा तथा गर्मी मौसम र बनजङ्गल विनासका कारण पानीका मुहान सुकेका हुन् । सदरमुकामका झण्डै १२ हजार सर्वसाधारण ,नेपाली सेना , प्रहरी र निजामती कर्मचारीलाई समेत पिउने पानीको अभावले सताएको छ ।
सदरमुकाम चुचुरोमा भएकोले नजिक कतैपनि पानीका मुल छैनन् । खानेपानीको हाहाकार भएका स्थानहरुमा थाप्ले , थाप्लेचौर , पिपलडाडा , काजीबारा , बाहुनबारा , गैरीखाली , रानागाउ , बोरा , स्याला , कालेगाउ ,राउतगाउ लगाएत रहेका छन् । ती स्थानहरुमा एक गाग्री पिउने पानी पाउनै ग्राह्रो छ । नुहाउने तथा कपडा धुने कार्यका लागि भेरी नदीको किनारामा जानुपर्ने बाध्यता छ ।
बीस बर्ष अगाडि निर्माण गरीएको सदरमुकामको खानेपानी आपुर्तीको योजना हालको जनसंख्याको अनुपातमा निकै कम भएको छ । बर्षे सिजनमा करीब २ लाख ५० हजार लिटर पानी आपूर्ति हुने सदरमुकाममा यतिबेला १ लाख ५० हजार लिटर पनि आपुर्ती हुन सक्दैन उपभोक्ता समितिका अध्यक्ष शिब प्रसाद शर्माले बताए ।
सदरमुकामको लागि पिउने पानीको मुहान नजिक नभएको स्थानीय चिन्तित बन्दै गएका छन् । हाल आपूर्ती भैरहेको पानीको मुहान खलंगादेखि झण्डै ५ किलो मीटर टाढा रहेको छ ।
सदरमुकाममा प्रयाप्त पानी आपूर्तीका १५ किलोमीटर टाढाको मुहानबाट पानी ल्याउन बृहत खानेपानी योजना लागु गनुृपर्ने र जुन जिल्ला खानेपानीको काबुमा नभएको जिल्ला खानेपानी कार्यालयका ईन्जिनियर सीताराम काफ्लेले भने ।
Govt cautions about summer epidemic outbreak
Sunday, 04 April 2010
Kathmandu: The government has cautioned the general public against their carelessness in sanitation and food habits for the fear that an epidemic might outbreak in summer. Pranay Kumar Upadhyaya, senior pubic health officer at Epidemiology and Disease Control Division said that the ministry is on high alert to tackle any possible epidemic outbreak in this season.
“The distribution of essential medicines and other equipment has been completed nationwide. We have allocated more budget and medicines to 16 districts that had been severely affected by diarrhoea last year,” informed Upadhyaya. Around 366 persons died during mid-April to mid-October last year as per the record of the government. However, the NGO’s record claims the death toll to have reached 394. The ministry has also formed Community Rapid Response Team (CRRT) in the most vulnerable 20 districts in remote areas to provide immediate response this year. There are 75 District Rapid Response Team nationwide.
Talking to The Himalayan Times, Upadhyaya informed that the team would be mobilized as per the need of the area and would give the first hand service to the victims. MoHP posted around 150 doctors last month in the remote places. Saroj Prasad Rajendra, chief of Sahid Sukraraj Tropical Hospital at Teku said that they had recorded the growing number of patients as soon as the summer started. “The simple way to keep the diseases like diarrhoea, dysentery, typhoid, and jaundice at bay is to drink safe water and follow hygienic habit,” added Rajendra.
(Source: The Himalayan Times, April 4, 2010)
April 5, 2010 · 2 Comments
Aamir Khan
The government has approached Aamir to be the brand ambassador for the Urban School Sanitation project, a joint initiative of the Human Resource Development Ministry and the Urban Development Ministry, and help save children.
“Yes, we have been approached and have said yes to the initiative,” a spokesperson at Aamir’s office said.
According to Unicef, diarrhoea, which is directly linked to poor sanitation and hygiene, kills more than 1,000 children in India every day.
The project aims to generate awareness among schoolchildren about two key issues — the need for hygienic sanitation, its impact on health and environment and the importance of waste segregation.
The campaign will initially target schools affiliated to the Central Board of Secondary Education. Municipal school students will be next.
As part of the programme, the children will be told about hygienic sanitation practices and the ills of defecating in the open. They will also be taught waste segregation. Every student will be given a project on sanitation.
“Children are the best ambassadors of change. Through these children, we hope to take the message across to a wider audience,” the official said.
An urban development ministry official said Aamir was their natural choice for the campaign to be unveiled on April 27. “Children would associate with him very easily. He has done acclaimed films such as Taare Zameen Par and 3 Idiots. He would be able to get across the message effectively to children in a way that they can comprehend,” said a ministry official.
Source: Moushumi Das Gupta, Hindustan Times, 04 Apr 2010
Posted: 05 Apr 2010
Raising Clean Hands: Advancing Learning, Health and Participation through WASH in Schools, April 2010. UNICEF.
Full-text: http://www.unicef.org/media/files/raisingcleanhands_2010 .pdf (pdf, 2MB)
Water, sanitation and hygiene education in schools – WASH in Schools – provides safe drinking water, improves sanitation facilities and promotes lifelong health. WASH in Schools enhances the wellbeing of children and their families, and paves the way for new generations of healthy children. Each year, children lose 272 million school days due to diarrhoea, and an estimated one in three school-aged children in the developing world are infested with intestinal worms. Not only do these illnesses rob children of school attendance and achievement, they are underlying causes of malnutrition and stunting.
WASH in Schools significantly reduces hygiene-related disease, increases student attendance and learning achievement, and contributes to dignity and gender equality. Despite this knowledge, more than half of all primary schools in the developing countries with available data do not have adequate water facilities and nearly two thirds lack adequate sanitation. (more......)
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
SANIHEALTH CONCERN NEWS
Water, sanitation and hygiene for the prevention of diarrhoea.
Cairncross S, Hunt C, Boisson S, Bostoen K, Curtis V, Fung IC, Schmidt WP.
London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Department of Infectious & Tropical
London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Department of Infectious & Tropical
Diseases, London, UK. sandy.cairncross@lshtm.ac.uk
BACKGROUND: Ever since John Snow's intervention on the Broad St pump, the effect
of water quality, hygiene and sanitation in preventing diarrhoea deaths has
always been debated. The evidence identified in previous reviews is of variable
quality, and mostly relates to morbidity rather than mortality.
METHODS: We drew on three systematic reviews, two of them for the Cochrane Collaboration, focussed
on the effect of handwashing with soap on diarrhoea, of water quality improvement and of excreta disposal, respectively. The estimated effect on diarrhoea mortality was determined by applying the rules adopted for this supplement, where appropriate.
RESULTS: The striking effect of handwashing with soap is consistent across various study designs and pathogens, though it depends on access to water. The effect of water treatment appears similarly large, but is not found in few blinded studies, suggesting that it may be partly due to the placebo effect. There is very little rigorous evidence for the health benefit of sanitation; four intervention studies were eventually identified, though they were all quasi-randomized, had morbidity as the outcome, and were in Chinese.
CONCLUSION: We propose diarrhoea risk reductions of 48, 17 and 36%, associated respectively, with handwashing with soap, improved water quality and excreta disposal as the estimates of effect for the LiST model. Most of the evidence is of poor quality.
More trials are needed, but the evidence is nonetheless strong enough to support
the provision of water supply, sanitation and hygiene for all.
India, Mumbai: largest sanitation project nearing completion
April 7, 2010 · Leave a Comment
The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has completed 80% of the country’s largest sanitation project, Nirmal Mumbai Metropolitan Region Sanitation Abhiyan. “After conducting surveys, we found that the backlog between the demand and supply was around 25,000 seats,” said Ashwini Bhide, joint metropolitan commissioner, MMRDA. The project was started in February 2008 with the intention of providing areas with community toilets. The completion date is May 1. Of the 24,000 toilets planned, which includes urinals, 19,000 are ready for use. The project covers five municipal corporations and 13 municipal councils in the metropolitan region, which includes the suburbs and Thane.
“Most toilets are built by demolishing the defunct ones,” said CK Patil, chief of Nirmal Abhiyan. There are separate toilets for women, men, children and handicapped people, bathrooms and washbasins, and a room for the caretakers. The centres have continuous water and electricity supply, and have a usage charge of Rs30 to Rs50 [Euro 0.50 t0 0.83] per month, per family. Passes are given to each family and records are kept by the caretaker.
(Source: Joanna Lobo, DNA, 7 Apr 2010)
April 7, 2010 · Leave a Comment
The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has completed 80% of the country’s largest sanitation project, Nirmal Mumbai Metropolitan Region Sanitation Abhiyan. “After conducting surveys, we found that the backlog between the demand and supply was around 25,000 seats,” said Ashwini Bhide, joint metropolitan commissioner, MMRDA. The project was started in February 2008 with the intention of providing areas with community toilets. The completion date is May 1. Of the 24,000 toilets planned, which includes urinals, 19,000 are ready for use. The project covers five municipal corporations and 13 municipal councils in the metropolitan region, which includes the suburbs and Thane.
“Most toilets are built by demolishing the defunct ones,” said CK Patil, chief of Nirmal Abhiyan. There are separate toilets for women, men, children and handicapped people, bathrooms and washbasins, and a room for the caretakers. The centres have continuous water and electricity supply, and have a usage charge of Rs30 to Rs50 [Euro 0.50 t0 0.83] per month, per family. Passes are given to each family and records are kept by the caretaker.
(Source: Joanna Lobo, DNA, 7 Apr 2010)
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Miss, may I go to the toilet, please!
Here is the first article submitted for the ’Tell Us a Story – for pride and a prize’ contest launched in February 2010 Source Bulletin No 59, submitted by Ms Vijita Fernando from Sri Lanka.
Sitting under a tree watching the final stage of a water project to give women of Bandaragama water on tap, I noticed the swollen feet of the woman sitting next to me.
“I teach in the school here. My school day sometimes stretches to eight hours. We have no toilets in the school and I have to wait till I go home to go to relieve myself…. Sadly, even the teenage girls go to the bush to relieve themselves……but as a teacher I can’t do that. We need toilets for our school…my feet are swollen due to urine retention, the doctor tells me… Water provision is fine, but what about toilets for our schools?” D.M. Renuka, head of the coeducational school in her village asked me in whispers.
That brief conversation was the entry point to a project which provided hygienic toilets to her own school and twenty seven other schools in the Bandaragama area during the period 2007/2009. The Decade Service (DS), a consortium of 38 Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) was financially assisted by the Norwegian Church Aid (NCA) in this effort. Targetting schools which had no toilets and then those which had unusable toilets in a deplorable state, the DS built 41 toilets where the need was most urgent within the first three months of the project.
Each school got 4 to 5 toilets according to the number on roll. There were separate ones for the girls and boys and one for the staff.
“Sanitation in schools is not just limited to building toilets. There was an even greater need to train the children to use them hygienically. Orientation sessions on use, on keeping the toilets clean and hygiene education on the adverse effects of defecating in the open were conducted even before construction was completed, “ says Shirley Rodrigo, Executive Director, Decade Service.
The toilets became a community project in which everyone in the village participated. They were diligent listeners together with the children when health officials of the health education services from nearby town of Kalutara spoke to them on sanitation and the need to inculcate healthy habits among children.
“Parents, the Parent Teacher Association (PTA) were all at hand together with other community folk, providing advice, support, bricks made in their own kilns and even unskilled labour”, recounts S.M. Sumanatilaka who managed the project for the DS.
The DS project also had the blessings of health officials and the members of the Provinicial Councils who helped the Executive Director to access health officials for lectures and demonstrations to the school children.
In Sri Lanka primitive and unhygienic means of defecation and urinating in rural areas have been the cause of many illnesses especially among children who form one fifth of the country’s population of twenty million people. According to the Ministry of Health, diarrhoea and ailments related to worm infestation are common in children in the under developed and unserved areas of the country where defecation is in the open.
The entire project consisting of costs of construction, technical assistance, and costs of staff cost US$80,000 ( 8 million Sri Lankan rupees) benefiting about 300 children, both boys and girls.
As an innovative way of assessing the success of the project the DS conducted a special painting competition among the school children who had been given new toilets to present their impressions of the toilets and how these had affected their lives. There were 300 drawings from children of five and six years to teenagers in the A-Level classes. Some were whimsical and funny, yet perceptive, presenting rare insights into the importance of a facility that urban folks take for granted.
P.R. Wickramasinghe, Principal of the Payagala North Central school said that the students are more disciplined after they new toilets were introduced. “There is no running to the woods now, sometimes on false pretences!” he said.
Principal Renuka whose swollen feet started it all was particularly happy about her teenage girl students. “The lack of toilets affected them badly. The situation made the older girls leave school at times and even if they didn’t they would miss classes when they had their periods.”
Sandini Samara, 16 is most happy that with the school toilets her parents will let her stay in school till she sits her final exams. “There is even a place to keep the soap!” exclaimed eight-year old Sanidu Ishan on his first visit inside the spanking new toilet.
“Clean, safe and dignified toilet and hand washing facilities help ensure that girls get an education they need and deserve. Education for a girls means that the whole community benefits…” observes Anne M Veneman,of UNICEF.
The DS’s school toilet project has become a benchmark for similar schemes in nearby rural villages. Seeing the advantages of hygienic toilets in this project and on the request of the community in several villages in the adjoining community Beruwela, DS has launched a scheme to provide sanitation facilities for 23 villages in the district which will cover schools too.
Will the students, teachers and the community ensure that the toilets will be hygienically used and properly maintained? Will they make use of the ‘lessons’ they learned during the orientation session?
This is the challenge that faces the providers and the users both!
End notes : Bandaragama is a village in the Kalutara district, approximately 45 kms from the capital, Colombo. Beruwala is a townlet in the same district.
Sri Lanka is an island nation of 20 million people consisting of several ethnic groups, situated at the southern tip of the Indian sub continent.
SANIHEALTH CONCERN NEWS
Funds sought to tackle water crisis in district
Kakinada:The district administration has sent a proposal for sanctioning Rs. 4.81 crores towards the summer action plan for drinking water supply. Two hundred and fifty habitations have been identified for supplying water through tankers.
Priority is attached to getting repairs done to tanks and other infrastructure to ensure that drinking water scarcity is mitigated. The Rural Water Supply Department has been asked to make necessary arrangements to face the problems bound to crop up in peak summer months.
The Animal Husbandry Department has also been instructed to meet the drinking water needs of cattle. The Disaster Management Plan is being updated and sent to the government to avail of its financial assistance at the earliest so that the summer does not take its toll.
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD STATEMENT: World Water Day
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Yesterday, countries around the world celebrated World Water Day. This is a day to celebrate the progress we have made protecting this most important resource and to reflect on the many challenges we still face in providing clean, safe water to the world’s poor.
I was heartened to see that Secretary of State Clinton spoke at the National Geographic World Water Day event on Monday. She and others at the Department of State and USAID are doing a great job stepping up U.S. leadership on issues of clean water and sanitation.
Last year alone, American development assistance helped more than 4 million people access an improved water source for the first time. While we’re proud of this help, we recognize that much more needs to be done.
Today, nearly one billion people still lack access to safe drinking-water, and more than two billion still lack basic sanitation. Lack of access to stable supplies of water is reaching critical proportions, particularly for agricultural purposes. And the problem will only worsen with rapid urbanization worldwide. Experts suggest that another 1.2 billion people will lack access to clean water and sanitation within 20 years.
The overall economic loss in Africa alone due to lack of access to safe water and basic sanitation is estimated at $28.4 billion a year. In many poor nations, women and girls walk two or three hours or more each way, every day, to collect water that is often dirty and unsafe. The U.N. estimates that women and girls in Sub-Saharan Africa spend a total of 40 billion working hours each year collecting water. That is equivalent to all of the hours worked in France in a year. Clearly, the world needs to do more to help with such a basic human need.
That is why Senator Corker and I introduced the Paul Simon Water for the World Act – a bill that would strengthen America’s ability to provide clean water and sanitation to 100 million of the world’s poor over the next six years.
I am pleased that the bill is on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee agenda and thank Senators Kerry, Lugar, Corker and so many others for their support on this effort. I look forward to the bill’ consideration from the Foreign Relations Committee and urge my colleagues to support passage of the bill once it’s been reported.
The Simon Water for the World bill would put the United States in the forefront of providing poor people around the world with a most fundamental need – water. This is not an effort to create vast new programs, but to focus our foreign assistance efforts on a comprehensive, strategic series of investments related to water and sanitation. These are simple, common-sense steps that will make a real difference in people’s lives.
Our legislation would make the US a leader in meeting key Millennium Development Goals for drinking water and sanitation, which is to reduce by half the proportion of people without safe water and sanitation by 2015. The bill targets aid to areas with the greatest need. It helps build the capacity of poor nations to meet their own water and sanitation challenges.
The Water for the World Act also supports research on clean water technologies and regional partnerships to find solutions to shared water challenges. The bill provides technical assistance -- best practices, credit authorities, and training -- to help countries expand access to clean water and sanitation. Our development experts will design the assistance based on local needs.
The bill would also strengthen the capacity of USAID and the State Department to implement development assistance efforts related to water and ramp up US developmental and diplomatic leadership.
I know that these steps do make a difference. On a recent trip to east Africa, I saw American development assistance in Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, and Sudan and had an opportunity to look at a number of global health programs including clean water and sanitation.
One program in Ethiopia was provided by a nongovernmental organization called AMREF in the Kechene slum area of the capital of Addis Ababa. The 380 people living in the Kechene area have basically had to carry in water for years because there was no running water. But because of an AMREF project, they were able to build 22 water kiosks in the country and one in this slum area. It seems like something so simple, but it has changed their lives. They now have a source of safe drinking water.
Very near the small lean-tos they live in, they have two showers, toilet facilities, and a source of clean drinking water – none of which they had before. The small fee that is charged by the residents who maintain it helps keep it clean and functional.
The residents couldn’t help but beam with pride as we took a look at a most basic yet critical source of community pride. Disease is down, threats to women who otherwise would have to walk great distances to obtain water are down, and the community even has a small source of income and employment. These are the kinds of simple self-sustaining projects the US should be supporting for the world’s poor.
Water scarcity can also be a source of conflict and economic calamity. Last year millions in the horn of Africa suffered from famine because of droughts. Without reliable supplies of water, farmers struggle to grow crops, and areas once abundant with water are slowly becoming barren.
I was reminded of these challenges talking to a government minister in Sudan. When I asked about the impact of climate change in his country, he immediately wanted to take me to the Nile to show how the river had shrunk in volume. Can you imagine -- the Nile River – which sustains a land where historic civilizations emerged is now shrinking?
Helping other nations is in our national interest. Some say that now is not the time to invest in poor nations half a world away, when our economy is in crisis and so many Americans are hurting. That view is understandable. Recovering from this recession and rebuilding our economy for the long-term must be, and is, our government’s top priority. But investing in clean water for the world is a smart strategy that will make our foreign assistance dollars achieve more – something we need in these hard economic times.
We know what the solutions are and we know they are cost effective. For every dollar invested in water and sanitation, eight dollars are returned in increased productivity and decreased health care costs. And just imagine how bringing such a basic need to the world’s poor will impact America’s image – particularly at a time when we are in a battle of ideas in many parts of the world.
The Water for the World Act builds on the similarly-named landmark legislation -- the Senator Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act -- that at long last made safe drinking water and sanitation a priority of U.S. foreign development assistance.
I owe my passion on water to my predecessor and long time mentor the late Senator Paul Simon. Paul Simon was a prolific author and visionary. He wrote books on a variety of compelling issues; and solving the global water crisis was his last great campaign. He knew the United States had the ability to be a leader on this issue.
Two years after Paul Simon died the Senator Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act was signed into law in December 2005. The Act has made a big difference to the world’s poor, but we can do more. I can think of no better way to honor a man who did so much for so many, than to commit ourselves to achieving this vision and the ideals of the Senator Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act.
Water is one of the defining challenges of the 21st century. No other issue is more important to human health, peace and security than access to sustainable supplies of water. As we celebrate World Water Day this week, let’s renew our commitment to making sure the world’s poor have access to this most basic human need.
Kakinada:The district administration has sent a proposal for sanctioning Rs. 4.81 crores towards the summer action plan for drinking water supply. Two hundred and fifty habitations have been identified for supplying water through tankers.
Priority is attached to getting repairs done to tanks and other infrastructure to ensure that drinking water scarcity is mitigated. The Rural Water Supply Department has been asked to make necessary arrangements to face the problems bound to crop up in peak summer months.
The Animal Husbandry Department has also been instructed to meet the drinking water needs of cattle. The Disaster Management Plan is being updated and sent to the government to avail of its financial assistance at the earliest so that the summer does not take its toll.
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD STATEMENT: World Water Day
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Yesterday, countries around the world celebrated World Water Day. This is a day to celebrate the progress we have made protecting this most important resource and to reflect on the many challenges we still face in providing clean, safe water to the world’s poor.
I was heartened to see that Secretary of State Clinton spoke at the National Geographic World Water Day event on Monday. She and others at the Department of State and USAID are doing a great job stepping up U.S. leadership on issues of clean water and sanitation.
Last year alone, American development assistance helped more than 4 million people access an improved water source for the first time. While we’re proud of this help, we recognize that much more needs to be done.
Today, nearly one billion people still lack access to safe drinking-water, and more than two billion still lack basic sanitation. Lack of access to stable supplies of water is reaching critical proportions, particularly for agricultural purposes. And the problem will only worsen with rapid urbanization worldwide. Experts suggest that another 1.2 billion people will lack access to clean water and sanitation within 20 years.
The overall economic loss in Africa alone due to lack of access to safe water and basic sanitation is estimated at $28.4 billion a year. In many poor nations, women and girls walk two or three hours or more each way, every day, to collect water that is often dirty and unsafe. The U.N. estimates that women and girls in Sub-Saharan Africa spend a total of 40 billion working hours each year collecting water. That is equivalent to all of the hours worked in France in a year. Clearly, the world needs to do more to help with such a basic human need.
That is why Senator Corker and I introduced the Paul Simon Water for the World Act – a bill that would strengthen America’s ability to provide clean water and sanitation to 100 million of the world’s poor over the next six years.
I am pleased that the bill is on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee agenda and thank Senators Kerry, Lugar, Corker and so many others for their support on this effort. I look forward to the bill’ consideration from the Foreign Relations Committee and urge my colleagues to support passage of the bill once it’s been reported.
The Simon Water for the World bill would put the United States in the forefront of providing poor people around the world with a most fundamental need – water. This is not an effort to create vast new programs, but to focus our foreign assistance efforts on a comprehensive, strategic series of investments related to water and sanitation. These are simple, common-sense steps that will make a real difference in people’s lives.
Our legislation would make the US a leader in meeting key Millennium Development Goals for drinking water and sanitation, which is to reduce by half the proportion of people without safe water and sanitation by 2015. The bill targets aid to areas with the greatest need. It helps build the capacity of poor nations to meet their own water and sanitation challenges.
The Water for the World Act also supports research on clean water technologies and regional partnerships to find solutions to shared water challenges. The bill provides technical assistance -- best practices, credit authorities, and training -- to help countries expand access to clean water and sanitation. Our development experts will design the assistance based on local needs.
The bill would also strengthen the capacity of USAID and the State Department to implement development assistance efforts related to water and ramp up US developmental and diplomatic leadership.
I know that these steps do make a difference. On a recent trip to east Africa, I saw American development assistance in Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, and Sudan and had an opportunity to look at a number of global health programs including clean water and sanitation.
One program in Ethiopia was provided by a nongovernmental organization called AMREF in the Kechene slum area of the capital of Addis Ababa. The 380 people living in the Kechene area have basically had to carry in water for years because there was no running water. But because of an AMREF project, they were able to build 22 water kiosks in the country and one in this slum area. It seems like something so simple, but it has changed their lives. They now have a source of safe drinking water.
Very near the small lean-tos they live in, they have two showers, toilet facilities, and a source of clean drinking water – none of which they had before. The small fee that is charged by the residents who maintain it helps keep it clean and functional.
The residents couldn’t help but beam with pride as we took a look at a most basic yet critical source of community pride. Disease is down, threats to women who otherwise would have to walk great distances to obtain water are down, and the community even has a small source of income and employment. These are the kinds of simple self-sustaining projects the US should be supporting for the world’s poor.
Water scarcity can also be a source of conflict and economic calamity. Last year millions in the horn of Africa suffered from famine because of droughts. Without reliable supplies of water, farmers struggle to grow crops, and areas once abundant with water are slowly becoming barren.
I was reminded of these challenges talking to a government minister in Sudan. When I asked about the impact of climate change in his country, he immediately wanted to take me to the Nile to show how the river had shrunk in volume. Can you imagine -- the Nile River – which sustains a land where historic civilizations emerged is now shrinking?
Helping other nations is in our national interest. Some say that now is not the time to invest in poor nations half a world away, when our economy is in crisis and so many Americans are hurting. That view is understandable. Recovering from this recession and rebuilding our economy for the long-term must be, and is, our government’s top priority. But investing in clean water for the world is a smart strategy that will make our foreign assistance dollars achieve more – something we need in these hard economic times.
We know what the solutions are and we know they are cost effective. For every dollar invested in water and sanitation, eight dollars are returned in increased productivity and decreased health care costs. And just imagine how bringing such a basic need to the world’s poor will impact America’s image – particularly at a time when we are in a battle of ideas in many parts of the world.
The Water for the World Act builds on the similarly-named landmark legislation -- the Senator Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act -- that at long last made safe drinking water and sanitation a priority of U.S. foreign development assistance.
I owe my passion on water to my predecessor and long time mentor the late Senator Paul Simon. Paul Simon was a prolific author and visionary. He wrote books on a variety of compelling issues; and solving the global water crisis was his last great campaign. He knew the United States had the ability to be a leader on this issue.
Two years after Paul Simon died the Senator Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act was signed into law in December 2005. The Act has made a big difference to the world’s poor, but we can do more. I can think of no better way to honor a man who did so much for so many, than to commit ourselves to achieving this vision and the ideals of the Senator Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act.
Water is one of the defining challenges of the 21st century. No other issue is more important to human health, peace and security than access to sustainable supplies of water. As we celebrate World Water Day this week, let’s renew our commitment to making sure the world’s poor have access to this most basic human need.
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