This working paper by the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC), UNICEF and WaterAid highlights the fact that a staggering 716 million men, women and children defecate in the open every day, in South Asia, contributing to the most appalling concentration of poverty and disease and the poorest standards of hygiene in the world.
There are two facets to this problem in South Asia, both of which are unacceptable:
The paper argues that an equity based approach would accelerate progress towards the health MDGs faster than the current path, and will be considerably more cost-effective and sustainable. However, action needs to be based on the principle of equity, which requires clear identification of and effective response around specific barriers in the following three categories:
Different countries with their own governance systems and unique challenges provide evidence of exclusion in relation to sanitation and hygiene, and they show how it is possible to address the barriers, attitudinal, environmental and institutional in their own context.The factors for success include :
The paper ends by proposing a framework for assessment of commitment, capacity and practical options for ensuring and benchmarking equity and inclusion in sanitation and includes:
However, none of these steps will be effective or sustainable, unless they are driven by committed leadership at the highest level in each country in South Asia and then put into action drawing on collective strengths, argues the paper.
A copy of the paper can be accessed from this link