The 2009 Stockholm Water Prize Laureate is Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak, founder of Sulabh Sanitation Movement / Sulabh International Social Service Organisation in India. Dr. Pathak is widely known for his work in the sanitation sector to improve public health, advance social progress and improve human rights in India and other countries. His achievements can be found in the fields of sanitation technology, social enterprise, and healthcare education for millions of people in his native country.

Since he established the Sulabh Sanitation Movement in 1970, Dr. Pathak has worked to change social attitudes toward traditional unsanitary latrine practices in slums and rural and urban areas, and developed cost effective toilet systems that have improved daily life and health for millions of people. He has also campaigned to put an end to the traditional practice of manual “scavenging” of human waste from bucket latrines in India while defending the rights of former scavengers and their families to economic opportunity, decent standards of living and social dignity.

Related web sites:

• Sulabh International Social Service Organisation
• Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak
• World Toilet Summit 2007

Related news:

• Sulabh International to set up sanitation university, Source, 20 Aug 2008
• Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak, founder of Sulabh International Social Service Organisation, India, Source, 18 Jul 2008

Source:Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI), 25 Mar 2009

Tags: sanitation, south asia