Source South Asia 2008, issue 4

Published - 18 Jul 08

South Asia - General

South Asia: 778 million still practice open defecation, safe water use has improved, says new report

Although the practice of open defecation has declined in South Asia from 65% to 48% between 1990 and 2006, some 778 million people still rely on this risky sanitation practice, says a new report by the WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation. The percentage of people using improved drinking water in South Asia has risen by 13% to 87% in South Asia between 1990 and 2006.

KnowledgeHubs: new Asia-Pacific network launched to tackle water problems

Twelve centres of excellence from across the Asia-Pacific region have launched a network known as “KnowledgeHubs” to share solutions for improving water management to tackle the region’s many pressing water challenges.

Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak, founder of Sulabh International Social Service Organisation, India

From being ostracized by the community to being honored globally, Shushila is an example of how radical a change the Sulabh approach has made in the lives of scavengers.

Bangladesh: Muhammad Yunus teams up with Veolia Water

Muhammad Yunus unveiled a deal between his pioneering Grameen Bank and French multinational Veolia Water to provide clean water to poor rural communities in Bangladesh. The Bangladeshi economist also sought support from President Nicolas Sarkozy for creating more microcredit schemes to fight poverty, particularly in Africa.

Bangladesh: UK government lobbies for ‘disastrous’ mine scheme

An open-cast coal mine in Phulbari, Bangladesh, proposed by Global Coal Management (GCM), will displace more than 40,000 people and furthermore threaten the water supplies, food security and livelihoods of another 100,000 locals, according to the UK activist group World Development Movement.

Bhutan: International Sanitation Day observed

On 12 April students from the capital Thimphu performed dances and skits with the theme “Sanitation Matters” to observe International Sanitation Day/World Water Day. Even though water and sanitation are government priorities and coverage levels have increased, water-related diseases are still among the leading causes of child mortality.

India: initiatives to engage with citizens to improve public water and sanitation services

Engaging with citizens through methods such as Citizen Report Cards and Online Complaint Monitoring Systems results in service improvements, enhanced efficiency and greater public goodwill, a number of forward-looking Indian public service providers are discovering.

India: USAID and UNICEF disseminate best practices from successful school sanitation programme

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) celebrated the success of their five-year partnership to enhance environment safety and hygiene conditions in thousands of schools across Jharkhand and Karnataka.

India, Tamil Nadu: city pays residents to use toilet

A city paying residents who use an ecological toilet made world headlines on 7 July 2008. CNN (and several other media) reported about the town of Musiri in Tamil Nadu, where users can make up to US$ 0.14 a month to relieve themselves in this specially constructed toilet.

India: former scavengers take fashion show to UN Headquarters, New York

A group of Indian women, rescued by the Sulabh International Social Service Organisation from the degrading task of manually cleaning toilets, joined leading fashion models on the catwalk before representatives from more than 150 countries at UN Headquarters in New York, USA.

Nepal: changed Melamchi Water Supply Project set to proceed

The delayed Melamchi Water Supply Project in Nepal that includes tunneling 26 kilometres through a mountain to ease chronic water shortages in Kathmandu looks set to proceed, after the Asian Development Bank (ADB) agreed to new terms for the project.

Nepal: towards disabled-friendly water solutions

Traditional coverage of access to basic amenities like water and sanitation has inadvertently excluded the needs of the disabled. Discussions of inclusion often regard women, children and other disadvantaged groups while overlooking the needs of disabled or differently-abled persons. WaterAid Nepal (WAN) outlines the problems faced by the disabled in the country in accessing water and sanitation (WASH) services in a new discussion paper.

Pakistan, NFWP: government fully committed to provide WASH facilities in schools

The government of the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) is fully committed to provide water and sanitation facilities and hygiene education in schools so as to enhance enrollment and retention in the schools in addition to protection of children health.

Uganda, Kampala: the agony of being female - menstrual hygiene and public toilets

The lack of proper places for disposal of used sanitary pads in offices and public toilets is a neglected issue in Uganda.

Philippines: poor sanitation costs US$ 1.94 billion yearly, World Bank says

Poor sanitation in the Philippines costs the government 77.8 billion pesos [US$ 1.94 billion] a year, the World Bank found in its study “Economic Impacts of Sanitation in the Philippines”.

Peru: water conservation will save government US$ 540 million

A new water conservation programme will save 760,000 cubic metres of water every month, saving the the Peruvian state US$ 540 million.

Viet Nam: few wash dirty hands

The practice of hand-washing with soap in Viet Nam’s rural areas is not common, a conference heard last week.

Kenya: free water for slum residents

The Government will soon provide, at no cost, at least 40 litres of water a day per household in slum areas. The decision was reached following the recent outbreak of cholera in various parts of the country, the newly appointed Water and Irrigation minister Charity Ngilu said.

El Salvador: sanitation is a national priority in 2008

El Salvador’s government is making sanitation a national priority and increasing coverage throughout the country, says national aqueduct and sewerage authority Anda sanitation department director Rubén Alemán. The country committed itself to improve sanitation when it signed the Cali declaration at the 2007 Latinosan conference.

Indonesia: diarrhoea takes deadly toll on toddlers consuming infant formula

Infants are suffering serious bouts of diarrhoea, and in some cases dying, from infant formula provided in emergency situations, according to a coalition of international aid groups and government agencies that is calling for the promotion of breast-feeding. During emergencies clean water and opportunities to clean feeding bottles are often lacking,

World Economic Forum: water as critical as climate change

Water was given a high profile at the 2008 World Economic Forum in Davos, displacing climate change as the delegates’ chief worry outside the US economy. Panelists stated that global crises from escalating demand for fresh water and inadequate supply are just as urgent as efforts to tackle climate change. Collaborative approaches, political will, market mechanisms and innovative technology could help solve the water crisis, they said.

Environmental scorecard: global ranking list includes environmental health and water resources

The 2008 Environmental Performance Index (EPI) ranks 149 countries on 25 indicators, including the environmental burden of disease from diarrhoea and air pollution, access to safe water and sanitation, inland water quality and water stress. Wealth and policy choices are major determinants of environmental success.

The Lancet: "Sanitation has languished at the bottom of the international agenda for far too long"

Sanitation has languished at the bottom of the international agenda for far too long and the global health community has been complicit in letting it stay there. This unacceptable situation must change now, says The Lancet.

Grants: EnterpriseWorks/VITA receives Gates Foundation grant to develop low-cost domestic rainwater harvesting system

EnterpriseWorks/Vita (EWV) has received a five-year grant from the Global Development Program of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to analyse domestic rainwater harvesting systems throughout the world.

2008/2009 Advanced International Training Programme (ITP) in Ecological Sanitation - for Asia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia

Stockholm, Sweden, September 2008 - April/May 2009

This advanced, international training programme in ecological sanitation focuses on sanitation solutions for urban and peri-urban areas. It is targeted at participants from selected countries in Asia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

Ecological Sanitation: Concept to Practice

Kathmandu, Nepal, 26-28 March 2008

Three-day course on technical aspects and promotion of ecosan, with a focus on Nepal.

Ecosan Training Course

MJP Research and Training Centre, Nashik, Maharashtra, India, 12-24 May 2008

Organised by Ecosan Services Foundation in collaboration with Ecosan Capacity, a project funded by the Asia Pro Eco Programme of the European Union, the course provides theoretical and practical knowledge of ecological sanitation covering technical, socioeconomic and health issues.

Ecosan E-learning Course - Capacity Building for Ecological Sanitation

Internet, 09-16 June 2008

Organised by Ecosan Services Foundation in collaboration with Ecosan Capacity, a project funded by the Asia Pro Eco Programme of the European Union, this Internet-based course provides an introduction to ecological sanitation.

Bilateral aid: evaluation of Danish support to water supply and sanitation 1999-2005

An evaluation of Danish bilateral assistance to water supply and sanitation recommended that more attention should be given to sanitation, national ownership, decentralisation and monitoring.

Decentralisation: does it work for public services?

Supporters of decentralisation claim financial, efficiency and quality gains in service delivery through the use of local agencies that not only make better use of local resources but also understand local needs and preferences. But decentralisation also involves the risk of local elites ‘capturing’ power and resources, worsening access for poorer groups, and local government falling short in terms of technical or managerial capacity.

Watershed development: evaluating social impacts in India

Recent research from Oxford University, in the UK, evaluates the social impacts of watershed development in Madhya Pradesh, India

Hygiene: handwashing reduces diarrhoea by 30 per cent

Handwashing can reduce diarrhoea episodes by about 30 per cent. This significant reduction is comparable to the effect of providing clean water in low-income areas.

Hygiene: handwashing indicators strongly influenced by socio-economic status in Bangladesh

Handwashing promotion efforts in urban Dhaka that include specific efforts to provide handwashing facilities inside the house are more likely to improve handwashing behaviour than interventions that ignore this component.

Rural water supply: the risks of a technology-based indicator

Low cost behavioural and technology changes need to be explored and perhaps offered as options alongside those more expensive alternatives in rural water supply in order to increase cost-effectiveness and progress.

Philanthropy: Google.org launches “Inform and Empower to Improve Public Services” initiative

“Inform and Empower to Improve Public Services“ is one of the five new initiatives launched by Google.org, the philanthropic arm of Google. It aims to improve the flow of vital information to improve basic services for the poor in India and East Africa.

Taking community-led total sanitation to scale : movement, spread and adaptation

This paper focuses on community-led total sanitation (CLTS), an innovation in participatory methodology, as well as a unique approach to sanitation.

Integrated risk management to protect drinking water and sanitation services facing natural disasters

This TOP explains the concept of integrated risk management, a strategic and proactive approach to anticipating, assessing and managing natural events.

Water alternatives : an interdisciplinary journal on water, politics and development

The journal is a new, open access journal that will be published three times each year. The inaugural issue will be published on the 1st of June 2008.

Beyond construction: sanitation and hygiene promotion case studies from South Asia

Collection of papers presented in a 3-day learning and sharing workshop on sanitation and hygiene, from 29-31 January 2008, in Gazipur, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Micro Water Facility

The Micro Water Facility advises entrepreneurs and project organisations on appropriate business strategies and acts as an intermediary in finding the right partners and appropriate financiers.

WaterPartners Village

This virtual village enables visitors to explore the global drinking water crisis.

3rd International Conference on Water Quality Management

Nagour, India, 06-08 February 2008

The conference will appraise the problems of water quality by not only examining the issues affecting the various water quality parameters, methods of sampling and analysis as well as evaluation and formulation of standards and development of indicators for water quality for various consumptive uses but also the application of modern techniques such as remote sensing and GIS for monitoring water quality changes.

Wastewater Asia Summit (WAS) 2008

Shanghai, China, 15-17 April 2008

Dedicated to in-depth discussion and case studies of the critical issues in the Asia wastewater market and its associated partnership and investment opportunities.

2nd International WASH Practitioners’ Marketplace and Fair

Cox’s Bazaar, Bangladesh, 11-13 November 2008

Themes include integrated water resources management, sustainable sanitation, wastewater management for productive use, community participation in sanitation, sanitation entrepreneurship, and water quality.