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RNI No. DELENG/2016/71561
A Good News Weekly
Vol - 2 | Issue - 16 | April 02 - 08, 2018 | Price ` 5/-
Building A Healthy India With WASH To Everyone, Everywhere Clean water, basic toilets and good hygiene practices are essential for the survival of mankind n Swastika Tripathi
Quick Glance
T
hese are exciting times, and a real chance for change. How? I came across this article that tells the tale of very very young Deepika, Harpreet and Komal: members of their newly formed water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) club at a government-run school near Punjabi Bagh, West Delhi. In only four months since the WASH club started, they had information on the importance of hygiene on their fingertips, and the signs of change started getting visible. The idea behind the club was to form a group of children who then disseminate information, and keep a check on the hygiene and cleanliness practices of other students. Now these children explain the concepts through songs and plays that staying healthy and clean is linked to their well-being and health. They even go home and tell their parents and neighbours about it. So, why this particular anecdote? In today’s era, it is hard to imagine a successful school, a successful hospital or a successful community without basics as safe drinking water, a decent private toilet, effective removal of human waste, and good hygiene practice, including hand and face washing with soap. Yet, neither clean water, nor usable toilets are focused upon.
It is hard to imagine a successful society without water, sanitation, hygiene Yet, today, billions still await proper water and sanitation facilities India lacks provision of quality water, sanitation, solid waste management
Clean Hands Save Lives
Billions still await access to these basic facilities. More than 2.3 billion people in the world still do not have access to a safe, private toilet. Nearly one billion have no choice but to defecate in the open, at road sides, in fields or behind bushes, which contaminates living environments and contributes to disease, death and indignity.
Unsafe hygiene practices are widespread, compounding the effects on people’s health. The impact on child mortality rates is devastating with nearly 200,000 children under five who die annually from diarrhoeal diseases due to poor sanitation, poor hygiene, or unsafe drinking water – that is almost 548 per day.
Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) has been placed at the core of the 2030 Agenda as Sustainable Development Goal #6
SDG #6 The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development puts sustainability at the forefront of global development. In September 2015, at the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit in New York, the heads of state and government of the UN Member States adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs are even more comprehensive and ambitious regarding water and sanitation, something that was neglected and hushed for a very long time. Keeping in mind the major lag in the field of health and its three forgotten foundations – water, sanitation and hygiene, sustainable management of water and sanitation has been placed at the core of the 2030 Agenda and is directly addressed by SDG #6 to “ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all”.