Sanitation declared a right in South Asia
Silent vigil highlights silent killer as South Asia promises action on sanitation
Campaigners hold a candlelight vigil in Delhi
at the start of the SACOSAN conference.
Credit: FAN South Asia
22 November 2008
Sanitation was this week declared "a birthright of every citizen in South Asia" by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, as participants the South Asian Conference on Sanitation (SACOSAN) promised stronger action and greater coordination in tackling one of the region's biggest killers.
Having hosted a candlelight vigil in Delhi to commerate the deaths of one million children killed by diarrhoeal disease in South Asia in the last two years, civil society groups welcomed the commitments from governments and called for urgent implementation. Civil society groups also issued a joint declaration as a result of a pre-conference meeting organised by Freshwater Action Network South Asia (FANSA), Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council, and WaterAid.
'Ramisetty Murali, Convenor of FAN South Asia, said "we welcome the SACOSAN declaration. We must now hold governments accountable to their promises. The sustainable development of South Asia depends on good sanitation. Up to now governments have failed to act with the urgency required.'
On current trends, South Asian governments, despite setting targets for universal access, will not meet the 2015 Millennium Development Goal (MDG) sanitation target until 2043 - 28 years too late. In South Asia one billion people live without adequate sanitation and 778 million of those people practice open defecation. Government inaction is having devastating consequences for the region's poorest people.
The South Asian Conference on Sanitation took place in Delhi between 16th and 21st November.
Read the civil society declaration (opens in new window).
Read the final SACOSAN declaration (opens in new window).
Visit FANSA's website (opens in new window)
Read WaterAid's SACOSAN blog (opens in new window).
Visit the SACOSAN website (opens in new window).