11/20/2020

Headline, November 21 2020/ ''' '' HUMAN RIGHTS : WATER - SANITATION '' '''

 

''' '' HUMAN RIGHTS :

 WATER - SANITATION '' '''



LETS BEGIN AN APPLAUSE AT HOME : IN 2006 - PROUD PAKISTAN HOSTED the second South Asian Conference for Sanitation and formulated the National Sanitation Policy.

IN 2011, the Pakistan Approach to Total Sanitation programme was initiated in collaboration with development partners. Under PATS, the government made significant gains in improving sanitation across and countering open defecation through community-led and school-led total sanitation approaches.

Nationwide awareness campaigns and disaster-response strategies Pakistan successfully met the MDG target for sanitation in 2015.

IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD ALL OVER : WOMEN ARE PARTICULARLY AT GRAVE RISK. It is a global tragedy that basic human rights are often absent national priorities.

While oscillating and weaving the fates of its citizens, policymakers often neglect the most obvious of necessities. The right to water and sanitation is one of those needs. On World Toilet Day, it is worth considering the cost of failing to ensure it.

As unappealing a topic as public toilets might seem, there's no use pretending that the world can progress without them. Pakistan ranks 152 out of 189 countries on the U.N.'s Human Development Index.

This is hardly surprising given its place among the top five countries where open defecation is most prevalent, as well as among the top 10 countries with lowest access to clean water. This ought to ring every alarm bell.

A significant deterrent to solving this problem is that policymaking is mostly occupied by individuals for whom access has never been an issue. For those who have faced such issues before joining public service, a combination of dampened political will and bureaucratic labyrinths renders them unable to affect change.

As a result, despite being signatory to almost every international accord on sanitation, around 10 percent of the population still practices open defecation, most entirely unaware of its perils.

The issue resides within a highly inequitable paradigm. The majority of the Developing World's infrastructure has focused around urban centres, which has come at a steep cost to rural areas. Communities lacking proper sanitation facilities are thus forced to build makeshift latrines, lacking in dignity and personal safety.

Waste is disposed either into the environment or non-functional sewerage systems, contaminating water sources and increasing exposure to life threatening diseases.

WOMEN are particularly at risk. In India, studies show that a lack of access to safe toilets significantly increases women vulnerabilities to sexual violence.

Besides contracting diseases like dysentery, typhoid fever and hepatitis A, they are also at increased risk of vaginal or urinary infections and pregnancy complications. Poor sanitation also contributes to anemia, which affects over half of Pakistani women of reproduction age.

Then there are children, who are especially susceptible to related diseases [such as poliovirus], which coupled with mobility constraints curtailing access to healthcare, impacts health and quality of life outcomes.

Unsafe management outcomes towards diarrhea, a leading cause of infant deaths, as well as malnutrition and stunting. This cycle of ill health and poverty caused by this deprivation is unending.

With a renewed focus on proper hygiene and sanitation as a result of Covid-19, all governments in the Developing World, must stop and revaluate their strategy and focus on innovative methods to improve access, starting with better data collection.

With the cooperation of a number of local and international organisations working on sanitation, all governments must show will to establish and support public toilet networks across their respective countries.

Redirecting even a small portion fraction of the amount spent on seminars to resolving the issue instead would significantly improve conditions. Private enterprises should face penalties for not providing clean and secure toilet facilities.

So, to sum, the entire developing world needs to articulate clear specific goals and those must be announced, with a budget for implementation and maintenance, partially funded by by the public by way way of a small usage fee.

The status quo can and must change. Development that isn't inclusive and doesn't address citizens basic needs is repressive and invariably nudges any country's hopes for a better future down the drain.

The World Students Society thanks author Salman Sufi, the founder of SaafBath, a Public toilets initiative.

With respectful dedication to the Leaders, Grandparents, Parents, Students, Professors and Teachers of the world. See Ya all prepare and register for  Great Global Elections on The World Students Society : wssciw.blogspot.com and Twitter - !E-WOW! - The Ecosystem 2011 :

''' Vague - Voice '''

Good Night and God Bless

SAM Daily Times - the Voice of the Voiceless

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