Before it’s too late: Campaign launched to address woeful hygiene situation

Civil society organisations urge greater government action on sanitation issue.


Sehrish Wasif March 20, 2013
According to Unicef Pakistan, nearly 52% of the population (94 million people) does not have access to improved sanitation facilities. PHOTO: FILE

ISLAMABAD:


A host of civil society organisations from across Pakistan on Tuesday launched “Keep Your Promises on Sanitation,” a year-long campaign calling for the government to keep its promises of improving access to sanitation facilities for deprived citizens.


The launching ceremony in Islamabad was held at the National Press Club and was jointly organised by WaterAid, Plan International Pakistan, Rural Support Programmes Network (RSPN) and Pakistan Institute for Environment-Development Action Research (PIEDAR) among others.

In order to raise national awareness, the campaign was also launched simultaneously in Quetta, Lahore, Karachi and Peshawar at their respective press clubs.

The campaign urges the government to incorporate a separate budget line for sanitation and hygiene at all levels (federal, provincial, and districts), while requesting the development of a clear investment criteria and plan for areas where sanitation coverage is poor.

According to Unicef Pakistan, nearly 52% of the population (94 million people) does not have access to improved sanitation facilities while 23% (40 million) defecate in the open. The economic impact of neglecting sanitation costs Pakistan Rs343.7 billion annually, equating to 3.9% of GDP.

Siddiq Khan, Country Representative WaterAid in Pakistan, lamented the nation’s poor governance regarding sanitation, going so far as to say the state should declare an emergency on the issue.

“Sanitation in Pakistan is at a crisis point, requiring urgent action. The state should declare an emergency for sanitation.”

Khan confirmed that total funds allocated for sanitation in 2010-11 were approximately Rs28 billion with a 3:1 water to sanitation expenditure ratio.

However, this still leaves an annual resource gap of Rs22 billion needed to achieve the water and sanitation related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015.

Major cities including Lahore, Gujranwala, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, and Multan are receiving extensive funding while the rest are being neglected, Khan said, adding that the worst performing districts were from South Punjab.

Chief Operating Officer RSPN Khaleel Ahmed said many diseases are preventable and can be treated by improving hygiene, nutrition levels and basic access to medical facilities.

CEO PIEDAR Syed Ayub Qutub said a survey conducted by his organisation in collaboration with the government of Pakistan, UNICEF and Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC) yielded alarming results.

Of 100 randomly selected schools in low-income wards of Rawalpindi and Islamabad, 15% of public schools and 6% of private schools do not have access to clean toilets. In addition, while 26% of private schools from the sample provided soaps in their toilets, the corresponding figure for public schools was a shocking 8%.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 20th, 2013.

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