India census: more people have a mobile phone than a household toilet

Nearly half of India’s 1.2 billion people have no toilet at home, but more people own a mobile phone, according to the country’s latest census data.

Only 46.9% of the 246.6 million households have toilets while 49.8% defecate in the open. The remaining 3.2% use public toilets.

Census of India 2011 - Availability and Type of Latrine Facility: 2001-2011

Census 2011 data on houses, household amenities and assets reveal that 63.2% of homes have a telephone. More than half the population – 53.2% – have a mobile phone.

Bangladesh: government’s sanitation claim trashed

The finance minister’s claim that 90.6 percent families in Bangladesh are using sanitary latrines has been dismissed by experts. The Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey Report 2010) data shows the sanitary latrine coverage in Bangladesh is only 51.5 per cent (which is consistent with the 53 per cent coverage figure given by the WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation in 2010). Wateraid Bangladesh’s country director Dr Md Khairul Islam that there was ‘no way’ such huge coverage has been achieved as claimed by the finance minister and he was provided with ‘misleading’ data was provided to the minister.

Minister A.M.A. Muhith named the 90.6 per cent coverage figure while presenting the budget for fiscal year 2011-2012 year. In his 2009-2010 budget speech the minister announced a plan to construct 500,000 new latrines so that total sanitation coverage would be achieved by 2013.

Source: bdnews24.com, 10 Jul 2011

Sri Lanka: Govt. aims at safe water, sanitation for all by 2020

The Sri Lankan government aims to reach 100 per cent coverage in safe sanitation and water by 2020, said Minister of Water Supply and Drainage Dinesh Gunawardena at the Fourth South Asian Conference on Sanitation (SACOSAN-IV). The current coverage figure for safe water and sanitation was 85.5 per cent, the minister stated.

Sri Lanka and the Maldives were the only two countries in South Asia that had achieved the Milllennium Development Goal (MDG) targets for water and sanitation.

The Center for Environmental Justice (CEJ) and Friends of the Earth Sri Lanka said nearly 200,000 people are still engaged in open defecation in Sir Lanka and urged the government commitment to provide clean water and toilet facilities for them.

Source: The Island, 04 Apr 2011

Asian sanitation data book 2008 – achieving sanitation for all

The overall city sanitation picture in Asia is not bright. Sanitation has not been given sufficient priority and certainly lags behind provision of drinking water. This is one of the findings of a survey of 27 cities published by the Asian Development Bank in the “Asian sanitation data book 2008“.

The first data book on sanitation for the Asia and Pacific region, this book features raw data and analyses on the sanitation situation in 27 cities. The cities are members of CITYNET and participants in the Water for Asian Cities Program of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT).

Of the 27 cities, 1 is in Bangladesh, 3 are in the People’s Republic of China, 4 are in India, 1 in Indonesia, 3 in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR), 5 in Nepal, 3 are in the Philippines, 2 in Sri Lanka, and 5 in Viet Nam

Although the information collected was not complete for all cities, the book draws a number of conclusions from the data.

Based on the survey, the key findings are the following:

• Lack of sanitation and household wastewater treatment facilities is polluting ground and surface waters.
• Sustaining public health is an expected outcome of having adequate sanitation, but over half of the cities were unable to report key health statistics. Those that did reveal increasing diarrheal cases when the share of household wastewater increases.
• Far too many cities still have incidences of open defecation (ranging from 10%–40%) and sanitation coverage depends on private householders investing in toilets and septic tank systems.
• Although almost all cities are aware of their sanitation problems, only 40% of responding cities have sanitation plans, and few were able to provide information on capital expenditure and operations and maintenance costs.
• Most cities that provide sanitation services rely on government funding to pay for capital and operating costs, with only 10% indicating that sanitation fees and charges can cover their costs.
• Multiple agencies have responsibilities for some aspects of sanitation. However, local government seems to be the primary organization. These organizations were operating under at least several national laws and one local law. These institutional arrangements may frustrate action and reduce accountability.

The findings, despite qualifications about data quality, point to several priority actions that government and other stakeholders need to undertake:

• Initiate city sanitation plans, including setting targets for sanitation outcomes and coverage.
• Simplify institutional arrangements to strengthen accountability and avoid multiple-agency involvement that can cause delays in taking action; set in place a coordinating mechanism.
• Review operation and maintenance expenditures and cost recovery policies to ensure sanitation providers can sustain operations and extend services.
• Improve sanitation benchmark indicators and set in place a sanitation information management system that will be regularly updated to help planners and decision makers make investment and operations decisions.
• As significant investment is needed, consider sourcing funds from beyond government sources—such as the private sector and user fees, and other revenue-generating mechanisms.

ADB (2009). Asian sanitation data book 2008 : achieving sanitation for all. Manila, Philippines, Asian Development Bank. x, 134 p. : 2 fig., 27 tab. ISBN 978-971-561-808-3
Download full document

Viet Nam: more rural people to access clean water

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has targeted providing clean water for daily use to 79 per cent of rural residents and standard hygienic toilets to 65 per cent of rural households next year [2009].

Since the national programme of clean water and rural sanitation in 31 cities and provinces began three years ago, about 75 per cent of rural people have access to clean water and 60 per cent of rural households have sanitary toilets, according to the ministry.

Source: Nhan Dan (The People) / Viet Nam News, 22 Dec 2008

Pakistan: draft National Drinking Water Policy due soon, on track to meet MDG target for sanitation

The draft National Drinking Water Policy will be finalized in consultation with provincial governments and others stakeholders and would be submitted to the Federal Cabinet for approval in a two-months time. The policy would be followed by National Action Plan in this area.

This was stated by the Federal Minister for Environment Mr. Hameed Ullah Jan Afridi while talking to UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Ms. Helde Frafjord Johnson.

The Minister [...] said that a Water and Sanitation Directorate would be established in the Ministry of Environment [and] that a Ministerial Committee [had been proposed] to the Prime Minister of Pakistan to ensure smooth working in the water, sanitation and environment sectors.

[...] The Minister appreciated the UNICEF support in the area of water and sanitation, especially for [...] the formulation of national drinking water and sanitation policies, provincial and regional sanitation strategies, water quality standards and in the formulation of country plan for International Year of Sanitation-2008. He also lauded UNICEF assistance for enhancing coverage of water and sanitation in schools and communities.

[...] Considering the strong linkages of polio with sanitation conditions, the Ministry of Environment plans to develop joint strategy in collaboration with the Ministry of Health to ensure convergence of polio and sanitation programmes.

[...] UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Ms. Helde Frafjord Johnson said [...] that UNICEF is looking forward to work closely with the Ministry of Environment under new country programme, UN joint programme (2009-10) and will extend the cooperation for implementing the National Action Plan on sanitation and drinking water supply.

Source: Ministry of Environment [click on news], 27 Nov 2008

While addressing the inaugural session of the South Asian Conference on Sanitation (SACOSAN)-III, [the Minister] stated that Pakistan is on-track to meeting its Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) target for sanitation.

[G]iven the baseline of 33% improved sanitation coverage in 1990, the MDG target for Pakistan is 67% improved coverage. Recent analysis indicates that Pakistan is on-track to meet its MDG target for sanitation. The most recent data of 2006/07 indicates that 73% of the population has now access to a latrine, with 96% access in urban areas, and 62% access in rural areas.

The minister, however, stated that while the progress in meeting quantitative targets is significant and laudable, there are continuing concerns over quality of the services. The government is aware that these concerns can negate the solid progress seen in the past few years, impact on critical health and poverty reduction outcomes, and compromise other MDGs.

[...] Water and sanitation related diseases are responsible for some 60% of the total number of child mortality cases in Pakistan, said the minister.

See the Sacosan III Pakistan country paper here

Source: Ministry of Environment [click on news], 27 Nov 2008

Nepal: loss worth Rs. 10 billion due to lack of sanitation

Nepal continues to bear a loss of some 10 billion rupees [US$ 127 million] annually [in terms of health expenses, loss of productivity and adverse effects in tourism] and 13,000 children under the age of five die every year from the diseases caused by unsafe drinking water and lack of sanitation.

According to the statistics of National Sanitation Steering Committee, about 54 percent population does not have access to basic sanitation (toilet). Less than 20 percent population in village development committees of 25 districts has basic sanitation facility, [...] only 41 percent schools have toilet facility and only 12 percent population of the country has access to sewer system.

[...] Senior divisional engineer of National Sanitation Steering Committee Khum Bahadur Subedi said, “We can eradicate unemployment and bring improvement in health and sanitation in Nepal by providing training of sanitation and toilet management in Nepal.”

Secretary [at the Ministry of Physical Planning and Works, Umakanta] Jha told that the Millennium Development Goal has set to provide sanitation service to half the population within 2015 and the government is committed to fulfill [the] national goal of providing basic sanitation facility to the total population by 2017. [A]round 1,48,000 toilets (405 per day) are being constructed in Nepal each year at present but the national goal of sanitation can be achieved only by constructing 3,20,000 toilets (879 per day) each year.

Related web site: International Year of Sanitation 2008 in Nepal

Source: Yalu Joshi, Gorkhapatra / NGO Forum, 13 Nov 2008

Bangladesh: Inadequate sanitation biggest killer of children under five

While the government claims at least 88 percent sanitation coverage, WaterAid Bangladesh said the actual sanitation coverage in the country is not more than 39 percent.

Speakers at the launching ceremony of the Water Aid Global Report on ‘Tackling the silent killer: The case for sanitation‘ said the gap must be covered by analysing the real situation, otherwise progress in the health sector is not possible.

[...] The report highlights that inadequate sanitation is the biggest killer of children under the age of five but in Bangladesh it remains the most neglected part of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG).

It said if Bangladesh government does not allocate more budget in sanitation it will have to wait for 2022 instead of 2015 to fulfill the MDG target.

Read more: Daily Star, 30 Oct 2008

Bangladesh: sanitation coverage reaches 88 pc in rural areas, says government

Officials of the Water and Sanitation Wing of the Local Government Division said [...] that the sanitation coverage in rural areas already reached 88.22 percent in June [2008] against 28.77 percent achieved during the period of baseline survey in 2003. [S]anitation coverage in the municipal areas went up to 88.12 percent in 2008 from 33.21 percent in 2003 and in the city corporation areas to 85.03 percent in 2008 from 69.92 percent in 2003.

The improvement in sanitation coverage was possible due to increased public awareness and their motivation towards achieving sustained health benefits, the officials observed.

[...]
.
Shams Uddin Ahmed, Deputy Secretary of the Ministry of Local Government, now engaged in formulating sanitation policies and strategies, [said] that frequent natural calamities made it difficult to ensure 100 sanitation coverage in the country.

[...]

“The government has made it compulsory for the upazila administration to spend 20 percent funds of the Annual Development Programme (ADP) for raising the sanitation coverage,” he said, [adding] that 90 percent of the allocation must be used for procurement of sanitary latrines for free distribution among the hardcore poor.

He said the government is now proceeding with the ‘horizontal learning’ programme [in nine out of eleven planned upazilas (subdistricts)] under which steps have been taken to promote the best practices of sanitation from people to people, house to house and village to village.

Source: Daily Independent Bangladesh, 12 Sep 2008

Note: The 2006 UNICEF/WHO figures for improved sanitation coverage in Bangladesh (published in July 2008) give much lower estimates than those of the government: rural sanitation – 32% improved facilities, urban sanitation: 48% improved facilities.