Experts stress adopting safe sanitation practices

Environmentalists, health, water and sanitation experts have said that Pakistan's efforts for polio eradication and achieving sustainable development goals are bound to fail, if access to safe sanitation in the country is not improved. They, however, urged for need to raise awareness amongst all stakeholders particularly exposed to bad sanitation about benefits of practising safe sanitation values.
In his keynote speech to the participants of the World Toilet Day 2012 seminar held on Monday at the National Library of Pakistan, Director-General (Environment & Climate Change) of the Ministry of Climate Change, Jawed Ali Khan raising awareness about unprecedented health, social and economic benefits of adopting safe sanitation practices is key to cope with different health diseases, such as malaria, diahorrea, cholera, typhoid, tuberculoses, etc.
The seminar was organised by the Ministry of Climate Change in collaboration with UNICEF, WaterAid - Pakistan and Pakistan Institute for Environment Development Action Research (PIEDAR). "Considered as real catalyst for change and stimulating process of socio-economic development, Media can also play its critical role in promoting safe sanitation practices among people, particularly women and children having rather more exposure to water in their daily lives," he remarked.
"Although we have achieved access to water MDG before the 2015 deadline, but there are some reservations on its quality matters. It is hoped, however, these reservations will be addressed," he added. Head of the Pakistan Institute for Environment Development Action Research (PIEDAR) Syed Ayub Qutub said only two-thirds of the households have access to flush toilets, either cistern or pour-flush (PSLM, 2010-11, Table 4.8). Another 15 percent have non-flush toilets, while 18 percent of the households have no toilets at all.
In the rural areas of the country, 27 percent of the households have no toilets. This means that some 30-35 million people go out to defecate, daily. Women and older girls find it particularly inconvenient, often having to wait for the relative privacy of the night to defecate in the open, he told the participants of the seminar. Siddiq Khan, Country Representative of WaterAid - Pakistan, said that in Pakistan there are 40 percent people defecate in open and specially when women don't have safe, secure and private place to go to the toilet they are exposed and put in a vulnerable position.
Country representative of UNICEF to Pakistan for Water, Sanitation and Hygiene, Simone Klawitter said that although Pakistani government struggling hard to achieve water and sanitation MDGs before the 2015 deadline, but much needs to be done to make the process of achieving these critical goals faster. The event was attended by high-level government officials, representatives of different non-governmental organisations and over 400 schoolchildren.-PR