Sanitation impacts human being on three major indicators - wellbeing, economic status and social order.

To

The Heads of States

SACOSAN V,

Kathmandu, Nepal

The region of South Asia has seen considerable changes in different development indicators although they are still way below from where the region should be. Particularly, the situation of the marginalized and excluded communities in the South Asian countries has been in an all time difficult status as they struggle to sustain their lives. Among others, one of the most important challenges in South Asia still remains to be the crisis of Sanitation as it poses an emergency like situation across the region. In contrast to the considerable progress in the region, over a billion people still don’t have access to basic sanitation and around 700 million practice open defecation. Diarrhoea caused by unsafe water, poor sanitation and hygiene is the second biggest killer of children under five. A huge percentage of people are denied access to improved sanitation (69% in Nepal, 66% in India, 63% in Afghanistan, 56% in Bhutan, 52 % in Pakistan, 44 % in Bangladesh).[1]

There is enough evidence that improved & adequate sanitation is strongly linked to economic growth, dignified lives, better health, reduce preventable deaths especially among under five children and improve their nutritional status. It is also widely recognized that improved sanitation and hygiene contributes significantly to gender equality, school attendance, livelihood and safeguard the environment.

Equity and inclusion is the core challenge: richest vs poorest income quintile

The overall sanitation use and urban/rural disparity figures reflect huge inequalities. The JMPreport examined sanitation use according to wealth quintiles in India, Bangladesh and Nepal, and states that the poorest 40% of the population have barely benefitted from gains in sanitation use in the last decade. This indicates towards a structural problem in South Asia. The continued neglect leaves stark inequalities unchecked: poor people in South Asia are over 13 times less likely to have access to sanitation than rich people.  

National investments are not responding to needs

The rural/urban disparity suggests that investments are highly biased, and resources are not reaching where the need is greatest. National budget analysis carried out by different civil society organizations provides strong evidence that most sector investments in the last four years have been channelled to major urban centres.

Inadequate & inappropriate financing for sanitation and hygiene

Sanitation and hygiene still suffer from a lack of public sector finance for achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and universal coverage in comparison with other social sectors. This is clear from country statements made at the second high-level meeting of the Sanitation and Water for All partnership in Washington DC in April 2012. The available financial resources are also not reaching where they are needed most, as indicated above. The GLAAS 2012 report finds that funding levels for WASH are insufficient, especially for sanitation, and although most of the countries did not report hygiene expenditure, for those that did, it was only 2% of total WASH expenditure.

Government expenditure on health, education and WASH (% of GDP)

(Source: WHO, GLAAS, 2012)

Country

Expenditure on Health

Expenditure on Education

Expenditure on Sanitation & Drinking Water

Bangladesh

1.1

2.4

0.4

India

1.3

3.0

0.2

Nepal

1.7

4.7

0.8

Pakistan

 

 

0.4

Political Commitments of the Governments

There have been several high-level political commitment to provide sanitation and hygiene services to the poorest people in the region. At the Millennium Summit in 2000, all countries from South Asia committed to reverse unacceptable conditions. Since 2003, the countries have met four times at the South Asian Conference on Sanitation (SACOSAN), pledging to improve sanitation in the region. During the 17th South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit, leaders from the region agreed to work collectively to address the water and sanitation challenges.

All countries from the region supported and signed the UN resolution on the rights to water and sanitation – thereby committing to take steps towards progressive realisation of these rights by upholding human rights principles and standards of non-discrimination and universality. Five out of eight SAARC countries (Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka) have joined the Sanitation and Water for All partnership. Particularly the SACOSAN IV held in Sri Lanka in 2011, specific commitments related to recognise sanitation as a human right, increasing finance, ensuring an equitable and inclusive sanitation and hygiene programs and so on were made by the South Asian governments.

Despite political commitments at all levels, current progress on addressing equity and overall use is far from satisfactory. There is a need to address this as an emergency like situation and bring sustainable change.

It is in this context, we, the citizens of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka appeal to you to ensure the following in the whole of South Asia.:

1. Recognise sanitation as a legally enforceable right fundamental for human health, dignity, empowerment and development as committed in SACOSAN III & IV and resolved to be fulfilled by the United Nations General Assembly
2. Fulfill existing national and international commitments for ensuring universal access to sanitation  including  all households, schools, health centres, work places, public buildings and public spaces/places at all times and in all situations including disasters, emergencies, conflicts and migration
3. Spend at least 1% of GDP to achieve universal access to sanitation and an adequate proportion of this on operation and maintenance of existing infrastructure. To enable monitoring of this budget allocation and utilization, include a separate budget line for sanitation within national budgets
4. Ensure inclusive and participatory planning and governance and  improved standards of sanitation programs for the entire population with a special emphasis on women, persons with disabilities, children & older people in both rural and urban areas, including slums
5. Establish a participatory & transparent multi-stakeholder monitoring mechanism for annual reporting against clear indicators for poor, marginalised and excluded groups, including people with disabilities, women, children and older people

6.    Institutionalize concrete steps to uphold human rights and dignity by eliminating the stigma of impurity and pollution ascribed to sanitation, especially to menstruation and to those providing sanitation services, and ensure that services are provided in the most unbiased and non-discriminatory manner

7.    Eliminate all forms of manual scavenging and ensure dignity and equality for the sanitation workforce. Ensure that disposal and management of human waste is carried out in strict conformity to the principles of protecting human rights, health and environmental sustainability.

8.    Position right to sanitation & hygiene for all at all times in the development of the post-2015 framework and SAARC agenda and advocate for a separate target for ‘universal access to sanitation’

 

Yours Sincerely,

South Asia Campaign on Right to Sanitation and several other groups and people

 

[1]UNICEF/WHO JMP report 2012