WASH news Asia & Pacific

Participants at the South Asia Sanitation and Hygiene practitioners’ workshop in Bangladesh from 29 to 31 January 2008 identified five priority messages they will push in 2008:

• Sanitation and hygiene programmes must reach the poor and this is what should guide partnerships.
• More policy focus and funds are needed for urban sanitation for the poor.
• Local government and communities are in highest need for capacity building to sustain sanitation services.
• Needs of differently-abled people must be incorporated to achieve sanitation for all.
• The issue of manual scavenging must be recognised and addressed.

The workshop jointly organised by IRC, WaterAid and BRAC brought together 53 practitioners working in South Asia, including those with specific experience in Nepal, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan Bhutan and Vietnam. They work for a wide range of organisations, including partner NGOs of IRC, WaterAid and BRAC as well as WaterAid country staff. They also agreed on joint action research on priority areas such as developing golden indicators to measure outcomes and impacts, and cost-effectiveness of hygiene promotion  

Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam have suffered 9 billion U.S. dollars economic loss annually due to poor implementation of sanitation, about 2 percent of their combined GDP, a recent study conducted by the World Bank has said. As reported in China View the study said that Indonesia, the biggest Southeast Asia economy, had suffered the most losses of 6.3 billion U.S. dollar per year.   

Overall 4.8 billion U.S. dollars were lost annually to sanitation-related diseases, of which 3.35 billion U.S. dollars lost in Indonesia, one billion U.S. dollars in the Philippines, 260 million U.S. dollars in Vietnam, and 187 million U.S. dollars in Cambodia.

See also the Source Weekly 2008 No 1 article on the Philippines.

DHAKA, 10 January 2008 (IRIN) - An innovative, locally designed arsenic filter, known as the Sono filter, now offers hope for millions who lack access to safe drinking water in Bangladesh.

Occurring naturally in ground water in trace amounts, arsenic can have serious health implications for those who ingest it over extended periods.

Read more: IRIN,  10 Jan 2008

The World Bank on Wednesday said poor sanitation in the Philippines costs the government 77.8 billion a year. In its study “Economic Impacts of Sanitation in the Philippines”, the World Bank said poor sanitation also causes 31 premature deaths a day and reduces income from fishery, tourism and other sectors.

“Healthcare costs account for 71 percent of the total losses due to 38 million cases of diarrhea per year,” it added. For every dollar invested in improved sanitation, the World Health Organization had said, a country can reap up to $9 in benefits.

The World Bank study, which was also funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), will be launched on February 18 in Mandaluyong City under the theme “Sanitasyon ang Solusyon” (Sanitation is the Solution). Expected to attend are the city’s Mayor Benjamin Abalos Jr., Health Secretary Francisco Duque, Environment Secretary Lito Atienza, Rep. Belma Cabilao of Zamboanga Sibugay and Miss Earth Philippines 2007 Jeanne Harn. Cabilao heads the House Committee on Ecology.

Read More - Manila Times, 15 Feb 2008

Rodriguez UE, Jamora N, Hutton G. (2007). Economic impacts of sanitation in the Philippines. Washington, DC, USA, World Bank, Water and Sanitation Program.
A summary appeared in Economic impacts of sanitation in Southeast Asia

See also: East Asia: leaders vow to increase investments in sanitation and hygiene, Source Weekly, 21 Jan 2008

Cologne. During the Malteser International Lent Campaign “40 Euros for Sri Lanka“, the British water engineer Suzanna Lipscombe reports from Sri Lanka on a weekly basis. In Sri Lanka, Malteser International concentrates on programmes that provide clean drinking water for the population in remote areas. No sophisticated technology is needed to achieve this goal - simple bio-sand water filters can clear the groundwater and water from open wells from germs.

With the Lent Campaign, Malteser International calls for putting aside one Euro a day during Lent season. This way, 40 Euros can be saved up until Easter. With these 40 Euros, the organisation can procure the material for the construction of one bio-sand water filter for one family.

Around 2,000 families in the coastal regions of southern Sri Lanka have already received a rainwater harvesting tank from Malteser International. Rainwater harvesting is the topic of the first weekly report (1 Feb 200 by Suzanna Lipscombe.

Malteser International is the worldwide relief agency of the Sovereign Order of Malta for humanitarian aid. The organisation covers around 200 projects in about 30 countries in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas. Currently, 19 national associations of the Order of Malta are members of Malteser International. The headquarters are in Cologne, Germany.

Read more

MANILA (AFP) — Drinking water contaminated by fertiliser has been found on a number of farms in the northern Philippines, a report by environmental group Greenpeace said.

Groundwater analysis conducted by Greenpeace scientists found 30 percent of artesian wells tested in Benguet and Bulacan provinces on the main island of Luzon had nitrate levels above the World Health Organisation safety threshold.

Read more: AFP, 1 Feb 2008

In related news:

The majority of Filipinos see water pollution as a serious threat to health and the environment, but feel that the government has not been doing an effective job in enforcing environmental laws, according to a recent nationwide opinion poll commissioned by Greenpeace. The poll results, presented by Greenpeace in a press conference in Quezon City, was conducted by Social Weather Stations (SWS) during the last quarter of 2007.

Read more: Greenpeace, 25 Jan 2008

Water, water, everywhere, but not a drop to drink

A lack of access to safe, clean water may not be the most obvious problem for those living along India’s extensive and beautiful coastline. Yet it is becoming increasingly apparent that most regions of India’s 13 coastal states are facing serious difficulties when it comes to providing an adequate domestic water supply to the rural and urban population.

To discuss this crisis WaterAid organised a national seminar in Ahmedabad, India, to explore the feasibility of technological alternatives to the problem of salinity in the groundwater - for example, rainwater harvesting, desalination and dew harvesting - and looked towards establishing an area-specific strategy for ensuring access to a domestic water supply in coastal regions.

Read more: WaterAid International e-news, Jan 2008 

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Engaging with citizens results in service improvements, enhanced efficiency and greater public goodwill, a number of forward-looking Indian public service providers are discovering.

A new publication, Engaging with Citizens to Improve Services, published by the Water and Sanitation Program (WSP) examines 10 initiatives designed to improve service, extend coverage and make public service providers more accountable to the public.

Read more

Kathmandu: The Regional consultation and planning meeting of Freshwater Action Network (FAN), the worldwide network of Community Service Organisations (CSOs), working in the water and sanitation sector, was held in Kathmandu.

The meeting identified two major regional issues: water and sanitation as a human right and adaptation to the climate change and also worked on the activities for effective advocacy on the issues.

An interim committee of FAN South Asia comprising the national representatives from India, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh was formed with representatives of FAN UK and Water Aid as its advisers.

Read more: NGO Forum, 30 Jan 2008

Dhankuta: The government is to operate more than 100 drinking water and sanitation projects to provide safe drinking water in the Eastern Development Region (EDR) of the country. According to the Regional Monitoring and Supervision Office, a total of 105 drinking water and sanitation projects will be implemented at an investment of Rs. 245.9 million. The Asian Development and UNICEF are providing assistance for these projects.

Read more: Kantipur / NGO Forum, 21 Jan 2008