By: Deepak Dahal

Kathmandu: We are not serious in the issues like washing hands with soap and water before eating meals, using toilet and drinking safe water. But, such habits can save around Rs. 3.5 billion in a year, which is spent in health expenses in Nepal. The Health and Population Survey conducted by Ministry of Health has stated that lives of around 11,000 children can be saved annually if we practice these healthy habits.

While preparations to celebrate 10th National Sanitation Week from June 5 to 11, 2009 are being made, the experts have demanded to establish water and sanitation facility as a constitutional right in the forthcoming constitution. Sanitation Week is being celebrated in Nepal since 1977.
Bharat Adhikari, communication officer at Nepal Water for Health (NEWAH) told that sanitation issue has not got significant importance as the government has not shown interest in sanitation in terms of investment. “Though good achievements have been made in sanitation sector comparatively, they are not enough,” he said. The interim constitution of Nepal states health, environment and basic health facility as constitutional right. The experts have demanded to state sanitation as the constitutional right in the new constitution. Though sanitation includes many issues, the experts have taken use of toilet, promotion of hand washing and safe drinking water as basic facilities.
Under the Millennium Development Goal, the government has taken national goal to provide sanitation service to the total population within 2017. However, there is a shortfall of at least Rs. 24 billion to fulfill the government's goal prepared by the Department of Water Supply and Sewerage. According to the statistics, it is necessary to construct 24,000 toilets every month. About 45 per cent population has access to toilet facility at present. About 14.2 million Nepali people defecate in the open. Similarly, 3 billion 600 million people around the world practice open defecation. According to World Health Organization, hand washing with soap and water reduces diarrhoea rate by 45 percent. WHO stated that about 1.5 million people, 90 percent of which are children below 15 years of age, are dying annually in the world due to lack of sanitation. According to government survey, access to sanitation facility will save some 10 billion rupees which Nepal bears each year in terms of health expenses and loss of productivity.

Source: Nagarik, June 5, 2009