Fri, Mar 22, 2013 -
The call to action aims to focus on improving
hygiene, changing social norms, better managing
human waste and waste-water, and, by 2025,
completely eliminating the practice of open
defecation, which perpetuates the vicious
cycle of disease and entrenched poverty.
New York, 22 March 2013
- To mark World Water Day 2013, United Nations
Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson has
announced that he is convening, on behalf
of the Secretary-General and the UN, a renewed
effort to drive progress on sanitation as
we head towards the 2015 target date for
the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Of the world’s seven
billion people, six billion have mobile
phones. Yet only 4.5 billion have access
to toilets or latrines - meaning that 2.5
billion people, mostly in rural areas, do
not have proper sanitation. Unbelievably,
1.1 billion people still defecate in the
open.
“I am determined to
energize action that will lead to results,”
said Mr. Eliasson. “I am calling on all
actors - government, civil society, business
and international organizations - to commit
to measurable action and to mobilize the
resources to rapidly increase access to
basic sanitation.
“Let’s face it - this
is a problem that people do not like to
talk about. But it goes to the heart of
ensuring good health, a clean environment
and fundamental human dignity for billions
of people - and achieving the Millennium
Development Goals. With just over a thousand
days for action before the 2015 MDG deadline,
we have a unique window of opportunity to
deliver a generational change.”
Meeting targets, reducing
poverty and disease
The MDG target to halve
the proportion of people without access
to sanitation has helped to raise the profile
of the issue, and 1.8 billion people gained
access to improved sanitation since 11000,
but there is still far to go. By contrast,
the MDG target to halve the proportion of
people without access to improved sources
of water has already been met.
The call to action aims
to focus on improving hygiene, changing
social norms, better managing human waste
and waste-water, and, by 2025, completely
eliminating the practice of open defecation,
which perpetuates the vicious cycle of disease
and entrenched poverty. The countries where
open defecation is most widely practiced
are the same countries with the highest
numbers of under-five child deaths, high
levels of under-nutrition and poverty, and
large wealth disparities. There are strong
gender impacts, as having to go outside
their homes to relieve themselves makes
women and girls vulnerable to violence,
and lack of safe, private toilets at schools
is a major impediment to girls’ education.
Doing nothing is costly.
Every US$1 spent on sanitation brings a
US$5.50 return by keeping people healthy
and productive. Poor sanitation, on the
other hand, costs countries between 0.5
and 7.2 per cent of their GDP. Some 20 countries,
mostly in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa,
account for over 80 per cent of open defecation
in the world.
UNICEF Deputy Executive
Director Martin Mogwanja stated: “We wholeheartedly
support the Deputy Secretary-General’s call
to action, and I know that other UN agencies
do as well. Ending open defecation will
contribute to a 36 per cent reduction in
diarrhea, which kills three quarters of
a million children under five each year.
We know that community approaches to ‘total
sanitation’ work. We strongly support this
effort to increase the focus on sanitation.”
The initiative builds
on the strong commitment already made by
Member States to take action through the
Sanitation Drive to 2015 endorsed by the
UN General Assembly in 2010, as well as
the Sanitation and Water For All partnership
which includes over 40 governments, civil
society, UN organizations and multilateral
development banks.
Ambassador Csaba Korosi,
Permanent Representative of Hungary to the
UN, remarked, “As one of the co-chairs of
the ‘Friends of Water’ group of Member States
active on this issue, I commend the Deputy
Secretary-General for his engagement. I
pledge to help him in his aim to urge Governments
to renew their commitments to end open defecation
by 2025, with concrete plans and measurable
milestones. Solutions exist and affordable,
safe, effective and sustainable approaches
and technologies are available - they just
need to be prioritized and scaled up.”
Focus at community level
The key to the Deputy
Secretary-General’s undertaking - which
is not a new programme in itself and will
not set up any new structures or funding
mechanisms - is to focus on generating action
at the community level - one community at
a time. It aims to engage community leaders,
schools, local institutions and citizens,
with support from government leaders and
international organizations.
Civil society groups
will be key to carrying out the work envisaged,
and advocacy is essential to break the silence
and make this a public issue. Kate Norgrove,
Head of Campaigns for WaterAid, one of the
world's preeminent NGOs focused exclusively
on water and sanitation issues, stated,
“WaterAid strongly supports the Deputy Secretary-General
and will raise awareness and engage communities
to help achieve his call to action. Few
interventions would have greater impact
on the lives of women and girls than addressing
the health problems caused by poor sanitation
and hygiene.”
