Source Features - WSSCC News
SACOSAN IV focuses on the scourge of open defecation
06 May 11
Open defecation and unsafe latrines together account for a high toll taken by water-borne diseases in South Asia. In fact, between 2008 and 2011, that is, the interval between SACOSAN III held in New Delhi and SACOSAN IV that recently concluded in Colombo, 750,000 children under 5 succumbed to diarrhoea, dysentery and jaundice in the region. In spite of the 2008 Delhi Declaration by governments in South Asia recognising access to safe drinking water and sanitation as a human right at SACOSAN III, progress in sanitation remains tardy and uneven.
Civil society flexes muscle at SACOSAN
06 May 11
WSSCC helped to drive preparations for the meeting and was active at the SACOSAN event in Colombo and at the preceding gathering of civil society organisations. WSSCC teamed up with WaterAid, the Freshwater Action Network South Asia, and others to bring the voices of the people to the podium, highlight the vital topics such as equity and inclusion and raise the challenges around the unserved in the region.
WSSCC News Briefs
06 May 11
The first half of 2011 has been a busy period for WSSCC. Implementation of the Global Sanitation Fund continues at a rapid pace. Since 2010, GSF programmes started in Cambodia, India, Madagascar, Malawi, Nepal and Senegal, to which in 2010 WSSCC committed $36 million to impact the lives of up to 24 million people over the next five years. The country programmes are beginning to issue contracts to sub-grantees to carry out on-the-ground work related to sanitation and hygiene awareness raising and marketing, community led total sanitation, and more.
The road to SACOSAN IV: addressing equity and inclusion issues
17 Mar 11
The 4th South Asian Conference on Sanitation (SACOSAN 4) will be hosted from 4-8 April 2011 in Sri Lanka. South Asia has progressed relatively well with sanitation and hygiene policies, institutions and investments. However it remains the region of the world with the largest number of people without sanitation, together with widespread poor hygienic practices, and consequently is unlikely to achieve the MDGs on sanitation.
West African delegates visit Bangladesh – a great example of sharing and learning between countries
17 Mar 11
When faced with a difficult problem, one of the best ways to determine the way ahead is to ask the advice of someone who has faced a similar situation. This logic motivated a group of extremely enthusiastic WASH practitioners from Liberia and Sierra Leone to visit Bangladesh in November 2010. They came to talk to people in Dhaka and rural Chittagong about how to address issues of sanitation, hygiene and water supply.
Menstrual hygiene management
17 Mar 11
In November 2010, WaterAid, with support from the research consortium SHARE, brought together 16 practitioners and researchers with expertise in water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), health, equity and inclusion, education and gender to share knowledge and experiences and develop a research programme for menstrual hygiene management (MHM).
WSSCC to host Global Forum on Sanitation and Hygiene
17 Mar 11
WSSCC will host a Global Forum on Sanitation and Hygiene from 9 to 14 October 2011 at the Mumbai Renaissance Convention Centre, bringing some 500 WSSCC members and sector professionals together in India for a week of sharing and learning around vital sanitation and hygiene topics.
Confirm your WSSCC membership or join now!
17 Mar 11
To remain connected to WSSCC all members who joined before November 2010 need to register again.
Pakistan: Scaling out sanitation in Rawalpindi
12 Nov 10
Sewage is discharged to open drains in half the streets of Rawalpindi, the fifth largest city of Pakistan. Germs are carried into homes on hands and feet and by flies. Children suffer from at least four episodes of diarrhoea a year.
Forum for Equity and Social Inclusion in the WASH sector held in Dar es Salaam
12 Nov 10
With support from WSSCC, a three-day learning forum took place in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, in September with representatives of civil society organisations from across the continent sharing experience on different approaches for equity and social inclusion in the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) sector.
