Viet Nam: where the schools have no loos

The Ministry of Education and Training (MoET) recently surveyed sanitation facilities in 11,200 schools across the country. “About 30 percent of inspected schools had no toilets or inadequate toilets,” says La Quy Don, deputy head of the ministry’s student affairs department.

A separate survey conducted in Hanoi found that of 1,400 schools nearly all failed to have enough sanitation facilities, says Nguyen Nhu Hoa, deputy head of the office for planning and finance in the city’s education department.

Regulations require one toilet for every 100 students and one tap for every 60 students.

Tran Thu An, a sanitation programme officer with the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), says the issue of toilet facilities rarely gets the consideration it deserves. The UN, as part of its “child-friendly” schools campaign in Vietnam, has been trying to focus on proper sanitation facilities. In the past year, it has been working with MoET, helping to design and build better toilet facilities across the country.

Part of the problem is that there are so many pressing needs when it comes to education that sanitation is often the last thing considered. At the moment, the government’s priority is to replace all the makeshift shelters that serve as classrooms with concrete schools that can withstand monsoon winds and rains, says An. Yet when these new schools are built, toilets are not part of the plans.

The responsibility for building latrines lies in part with local authorities and communities, who often lack the funds or interest. So in the end, says An, toilets just do not get built.

Tran Duy Tao, head of administration for the school infrastructure and equipment department at the education ministry, says it is not always a lack of money. [...] In crowded, yet wealthier, urban areas, schools may have the funds but no room to build more toilets.

In 2006, the government declared that all kindergartens and schools would have hygienic toilets and all children would have access to clean water by 2010 [but] at the current rate of construction, it is highly unlikely this goal will be met.

Parents at the Hanoi elementary school were so upset over the dirty facilities and concerns for their children’s health that a few months ago they decided to chip in and pay a monthly fee [US50 cents] to have them cleaned.

Source: IRIN, 17 Jun 2009

Nepal: Squatter woman sold ornament to construct toilet

A squatter woman of Lamjung has constructed a toilet by selling her ornament. Jitmaya Magar of Bhoteodar VDC-8 invested her hard-earned money and sold her gold earrings and a goat to construct a concrete toilet at an investment of Rs. 10,000 [US$ 130]. She constructed the toilet [...] after Bhoteodar VDC was declared an open defecation free zone on the occasion of 10th National Sanitation Action Week, [after] the construction of toilets in 1,378 houses [...] public toilets in Krishna garden and [toilets in] six schools.

The Tenth National Sanitation Action Week (NSAW) was held from 05-11 June 2009 with the slogan of ‘we are proud of having toilets in our homes’. Sanitation Week is being celebrated in Nepal since 1977.

Experts are pushing to get the right to sanitation included in the new constitution.

The government has set a national goal to provide sanitation to all by 2017 – which would require constructing 24,000 toilets every month – but there is a shortfall of at least Rs. 24 billion [US$ 311 million] to achieve this. Currently, about 45 per cent of the population has access to toilet facility and some 14.2 million Nepali people [out of total population of 29.5 million] defecate in the open.

Source: Nepal Samacharpatra / NGO Forum, 12 Jun 2009 ; Himalayan Times , 05 Jun 2009 ; Deepak Dahal, Nagarik / NGO Forum, 05 Jun 2009

ADB to Help Improve Water Management in Urban Centers of 3 South Asian Countries

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is helping select urban centers in India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka improve water management to enhance economic opportunities and reduce waterborne diseases.

The project is funded through an $850,000 grant from the Investment Climate Facilitation Fund established by the Government of Japan last year under the Regional Cooperation and Integration Financing Partnership Facility, which supports technical assistance projects.

Intermittent water supplies are the norm in South Asian urban centers. There are no strategies to make water available 24 hours a day, which is one of the most important objectives in urban water management system. This has resulted in water contamination and wastage, unreliable metering, and burst pipes.

Through the technical assistance, up to 30 urban centers in the three South Asian countries will acquire technology and expertise in managing the water sector. They will develop a better understanding of key policy parameters for water security and reduce risks and vulnerabilities caused by lack of understanding and knowledge of the water sector.

To achieve these objectives, the technical assistance will determine geographical and population coverage of service areas in the chosen urban centers, assess if drinking water supply complies with acceptable quality standards, and if wastewater management affects the quality of groundwater, aquifers, and other water sources.

The project will also determine the levels of non-revenue water, operational efficiencies, and operations management system of the select urban centers.

Source: ADB, 09 Jul 2009

Nepal: Arsenic contamination

Water in over 20,000 tube wells across the Tarai has been found to have been containing more arsenic than the recommended for safe use. In tests conducted by Nepal Red Cross Society, water in 20,243 tube wells contained arsenic more than the standard fixed by thee government. According to Nepal National Drinking Water Quality Standard 2063, water containing more than 50 ppb arsenic is considered unsafe for drinking.

At a public awareness program organized here by Environment and Public Health Organization (ENPHO), UN-HABITAT, UNICEF, Nepal Red Cross Society and Department of Drinking Water on May 16, it was informed that over 350,000 people have been affected by arsenic. In Banke district, among 45,191 tube wells tested for arsenic content, nearly 1 percent is found to have been containing arsenic above the recommended amount.
Raju Shrestha, who has been conducting research on arsenic, said arsenic related disease start showing symptoms if somebody consumes water with high arsenic content regularly for two years.

Source: Republica; The Rising Nepal; Naya Patrika / NGO Forum, 18 May 2009

Nepal, Dang: army spends his earnings in water and sanitation in school

Retired British and Indian [army staff] have operated a drinking water project at an investment of Rs. 4.1 million [US$ 54,000] after they saw that the locals of Bhaluwang of Lalmatiya-3 have been facing drinking water problem for the past many years. The armies have provided drinking water facility to 1,023 people living in 205 households by drawing water from deep boring. Earlier, the locals of Bhaluwang have to walk for an hour to fetch water from the Rapti River.
The project started two years ago is completed recently. Chairman of Drinking Water Committee Captain Jhag Lal Thapa told that pipeline connections have been distributed by constructing two tanks having capacity of 22,000 and 16,00 litres. He told that water has been supplied to six settlements including Aanpkholi, Ratomata, Gautam Buddha and Bhupu Sainik by laying down 8 kilometers pipelines from the tanks. Bhaluwang health post and Bhaluwang Lower Secondary School have been benefited by the drinking water project.

Similarly, the armies have constructed a school building of ten-rooms, 5-chambered toilet, bathroom and 70 sets of furniture at an investment of Rs. 3.2 million [US$ 42,000] . There are about 82 retired British and Indian [army staff members] in Lalmatiya.

Source: Kantipur / NGO Forum, May 8, 2009

Nepal, Kathmandu: Five rupee ticket for water

Ranibari Youth Club has started charging money for collecting water from a local stonespout. Consumers willing to collect 20 liter water from the stonespout have to buy a ticket worth five rupees [7 US dollar cents] in advance. [...] Earlier, some consumers do not get to fetch water even after queuing up for the whole day in the stonespout due to a large number of water fetchers.

Biki Khadgi, chairman of Ranibari Youth Club told that the club has started ticket system so that the consumers could get drinking water easily. Ticket system has not only regularized water collection from the stone-spout but also provided employment to the some unemployed youth members of the club. [...] The club stated that it will repair and renovate the stone-spout with the money collected from tickets.

Source: Sharmila Kaduwal, Rajdhani / NGO Forum, 9 May 2009

Viet Nam: even bottled water unsafe

In early 2009 tests by health officials showed widespread contamination of municipal tap and bottled water: High levels of nitrates and arsenic, which can cause cancer, were found, as was e-coli, which causes diarrhoea. Tran Van Nhi, a scientist at the Vietnam Institute of Biotechnology, told IRIN Hanoi’s water was heavily contaminated with ammonia: “It is 6-18 times higher than the allowed level.” Nhi also found arsenic levels two to three times higher than acceptable World Health Organization standards. Most residents boil drinking water as a matter of course, even though high temperatures do not remove arsenic or dangerous heavy metals.

Bottled water

In recent years, as incomes have risen, more people have been buying bottled water. Twenty-litre jugs that sell for around 50 US cents are affordable for most Vietnamese. However, tests on hundreds of brands across the country reveal that bottled water cannot be trusted either. Dozens of samples failed safety standard tests in Ho Chi Minh City in March 2009. “We detected bacterium in our samples, mainly coliform and Pseudomonas aeruginosa,” said Le Truong Giang, deputy director of the city’s health department. Pseudomonas aeruginosa can lead to sepsis and death.

[A]ntiquated water pipes leading from treatment plants to individual households leak, enabling dangerous contaminants to leach in. The long-term solution is to upgrade municipal water supply systems but this requires massive investment. “Water treatment plants can’t meet water demand in the big urban areas,” said Ton. “From now to 2020, Hanoi [which currently produces 600,000 cubic metres of water a day] will have to produce more than one million cubic metres,” to meet demand, said Nguyen Ton, chairman of Vietnam’s Water Supply and Sewage Association in Hanoi. The need to nearly double current capacity will require investment in infrastructure that Hanoi cannot afford, according to Ton.

Source: IRIN, 17 Apr 2009

Pakistan: raising awareness on water conservation

Simi Kamal heads Hisaar Foundation, a local NGO which advocates judicious use of water and offers low-cost practical solutions. “If we don’t save water now, we will not have enough for anyone,” she said. According to the World Bank, Pakistan, one of the world’s most arid countries, is currently experiencing water stress and will soon face outright water scarcity.

Kamal insists Pakistanis should make a conscious effort to conserve water. “It does not mean a change in your lifestyle; all one needs to do is consciously use less water.” She has put a bucket under her daughter’s shower to collect water. Her modern kitchen has two plastic basins, one with detergent for dirty dishes, the other with clean water for rinsing. Even the water in the washing machine is re-used. “We don’t run the whole cycle but re-use the soapy water to wash our bathroom floors.” In her toilet cisterns, you may find bricks – “so less water gets in there and there is less to flush,” she said.

Tofiq Pasha Mooraj, who hosts a popular weekly gardening show on a private TV channel, and always ends the show on a “use water carefully” note, is one of 200 activists in the Karachi Water Partnership (KWP), founded by Kamal two years ago. It includes government officials, water experts, urban planners, lawyers and economists, as well as schools, multinationals, and even local government departments.

In the last 15 months it has reached out to 200 teachers and 7,000 children in 19 public and six private schools to raise awareness of the need to save water. KWP also repairs pipes and helps raise awareness of sanitation and hygiene issues in government schools.

Women’s Water Network (WWN), formed in November 2008, focuses on urban water and sewage issues. It now has five branches in Karachi. WWN is also working with Karachi Water & Sewerage Board (KW&SB) inspectors, making them “water ambassadors”. KW&SB has included KWP’s water conservation leaflet in its water bills, said Lily Khan, programme manager for KWP.

Source: IRIN, 05 Jun 2009

India, Jharkand: women man handpumps

Jamsol village, 60 km from the Steel City of Jamshedpur in Meniyar panchayat of Musabani block, has opened a new chapter in women’s liberation. With around 150 families, the village currently boasts of around 25 tribal damsels who are engaged in [the] hard work of repairing hand pump[s].

“See, Musabani block alone registers presence of around 1400 hand pumps. Therefore, we have no dearth of work in our area. Our earning is not bad either. But yes, it indeed feels good when our group draws appreciation for their repair work. But for us, there can be nothing more heartening than the fact that Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL) is planning to engage our group in an annual maintenance contract (AMC) to maintain 60 hand pumps of the public sector unit,” said Sona Tuddu.

Tuddu went on: “But, our path of success has not been a bed of roses. All this has been possible after working hard coupled with stiff resistance from our parents and co-villagers who wanted us to do something else and not pick this line of work. But, now in sharp contrast to their earlier stand, many parents in our village want us to engage their daughters in our vocation.”

Apart from impressing many lower class women in Musabani , the tradition-breaking step of these girls has also made them more cohesive as a group.

Recalling an incident, a woman technician Parvati Hansda said: “A couple of years ago, some youths of a village misbehaved with our teammate while they were on their way to undertake repair work. As a result a hand pump remained unattended for a day as we came back in protest. And soon, the youths apologised profusely. And finally we took up the repair work in that particular village.”

“The repair work in that village could have been done by our male counterparts. But, this was in recognition of the fact we are probably the most dependable technicians in the eyes of the villagers,” she added.

However, the engagement of tribal damsels in hand pump repair is now almost a two year old story. After being provided with the required tools and on successful completion of a training programme organised by the Drinking Water and Sanitation Department (DWSD), Jharkhand in collaboration with UNICEF, trained a group of seven women to repair hand pumps. They were also provided the required tools to make them complete professionals. Over a two year period, their efforts bore fruits and today there are 25 women technicians.

“Initially, we were a bit hesitant about the success of this programme. But, we are thoroughly thrilled the way things have turned out to be,” said a junior DWSD engineer posted at Musabani.

However, underlining the need to initiate such vocational training for girls on a large scale, a social worker, Vasvi said as she talked about the women’s emancipation. “But, with an aim towards this goal, one should assiduously work on liberating women from the stereotype jobs so that they could show that they are not even inferior to male physically. Look, when these girls take to the street clutching their tool bags on back, people get the message females are as efficient as males in all walk of the life,” she said.

More information on women handpump caretakers is available via IRC’s digital library

Source: Sandeep Bhaskar, Deccan Herald, 06 Jun 2009

Pakistan: launch of Total Sanitation Campaign

Plan to launch ‘Saaf Suthra Pakistan Programme’

Ministry of Environment along with its partners is working on a comprehensive plan to launch ‘Saaf Suthra (clean) Pakistan Programme’ that envisages total sanitation all across the country to achieve the Millennium Development Goals targets.

Sources at the ministry told APP that allocations would be made for the programme over the next five years to achieve the total sanitation target.

“The ‘Saaf Suthra Pakistan Programme’ will have a phased approach for creating demand through communication and capacity development units in each province,” sources said.

“The programme will also include surveys and mapping for component sharing in selective TMAs and setting up of provincial social mobilisation units to scale up community and school led approaches,” sources added.

Experts at the two-day Pakistan Conference on Sanitation (PACOSAN) a couple of days back had also recommended multiple approaches to focus on the ‘Clean Pakistan Programme’.

It was also proposed during the conference that Rs12.5 billion would be allocated to execute the programme over the next five years, as the environment minister had set a target of total sanitation for all by 2015.

Sources also mentioned that setting up of ‘Rural Sanitation Marts’ in selected tehsils, provision of revolving funds and micro-finance, special consideration for the poorest of the poor, and coverage enhancement of public toilets are other features of the programme.

NGOs would be involved to develop, test, document, and replicate successful models for total sanitation, and solid and liquid waste management, the sources added.

Mentioning the guiding principles of the National Sanitation Action Plan, sources said that open defecation would be unacceptable and there should be an inclusive participatory development.

The total sanitation concept would be adapted with improved sanitation provided to all and focus would be on productive infrastructure only, ensuring that no one is exposed to the risks of unconfined ‘human excreta’ and solid waste. Progress would be accelerated to achieve health benefits and coordinate efforts within a framework of mutual accountability.

Sources also mentioned to improve governance, reward collective outcomes, incentives for producing performance information and support IEC for collective behavioural change.

See also: Call for Total Sanitation in Pakistan by 2015, WSSCC and the press releases issued by Pakistan’s Minsitry of Environment on the PACOSAN here and here.

Source: The News, Pakistan, 31 May 2009