Caretaker Minister for Environment, Syed Wajid Hussain Bokhari on Thursday urged all stakeholders to join hands for coping with the situation emerging due to poor sanitation in the country. "We need collective efforts to meet this challenge as well as the Millennium Development Goals," he said in his message on the eve of World Water Day.
The minister said that the theme selected for the World Water Day 2008, "Sanitation matters" focuses on one of the most critical issues of inadequate safe drinking water and sanitation which are fundamental to health, survival and development.
"World Water Day provides a unique opportunity to draw attention of the people and creates momentum that will enable governments, international community, civil society and individuals to take action to improve sanitation conditions world over," Bokhari said.
He urged to set realistic targets, develop achievable action plans, and allocate adequate resources for safe drinking water and sanitation, to meet the basis needs of the people, especially the poor and vulnerable people. "The low sanitation coverage in the world, particularly in South Asia including Pakistan, is a daunting and challenging task," he said.
The minister said it is estimated that 2.6 billion people world wide lack access to improved sanitation and about 280 million children under 5 years live in households without access to improved sanitation.
"One in two people in the developing world lacks access to sanitation and hygiene facilities," he said, adding, sanitation relates to five of the Millennium Development Goals, particularly Goal 7 that is to halve, by 2015 the proportion of people without sustainable access to sanitation.
He said large and intermediate cities have underground sewage system. Treatment plants exist in few large cities which do not cater to the growing population needs and most of the sewerage is discharged untreated in to the natural water bodies resulting in severe contamination and making the water harmful to human and aquatic life.
He also mentioned to implementation of 'National Sanitation Policy' in association with the federal, provincial and local governments, and other stakeholders. "All actions planned for World Water Day 2008 will work towards raising awareness of the general public and bringing about a positive change in public opinion which, in turn, would influence policy-makers and other stakeholders to make the difference," the minister said.
Secretary Ministry of Environment, Ijaz Qureshi said insufficient attention to waste water treatment and disposal of solid waster is causing severe environmental problems. "Continuing urbanisation and industrialisation have increased water consumption and correspondingly higher levels of waste, and increasing competition for scarce water resource," he said.
"Until the water demand is met and solid waste is properly disposed of, the productivity, incomes and health of the poor will continue to suffer," he added. He said the government is committed to implement programmes to meet targets set at World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) and mentioned to various policies and plans being implemented to fulfil obligations.
"The government has made adequate allocations in the Medium Term Development Framework (2005-10) to achieve these targets through various development-partners' supported programmes in addition to the government initiatives," he said.
He also referred to National Sanitation Policy which he said, is being implemented across the country in collaboration with the provincial and the local governments.
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