Poor sanitation costs Tanzania 301bn/- yearly

BabuK · 2013-04-22T14:49:13+00:00

The World Bank-supported Water and Sanitation Programme (WSP) shows that Tanzanias economy loses 301bn/- (approximately US$206m) every year due to poor sanitation. A World Bank statement made available to this paper at the weekend, said: We have to fix sanitation if we want to end extreme poverty by 2030 and boost the incomes of the poorest 40 percent. The magnitude of the sanitation problem distresses me deeply, because I have always known through my background in health that this is an absolutely critical intervention, the statement quoted World Bank president Jim Yong Kim as saying. The impact of inadequate sanitation lies at the core of so many barriers to prosperity faced by poor people health, education, environment, wealth, equity and dignity, the statement said. It revealed that each day, thousands of children die due to diarrhea disease and those who survive, often miss school due to illness. Having no access to sanitation renders women and girls particularly vulnerable, as they risk personal security seeking private locations, or drop out of school at puberty as there are no sanitation facilities, the statement said. The WSP shows that poor sanitation also leads to costs valued in the hundreds of billions of dollars every year by damaging health, environment and tourism. The WB is the largest multilateral financier of water and sanitation development committing US$4bn to water supply and sanitation. The money is expected to help nine million people access improved water supply and sanitation services. We commit to supporting the effort to end open defecation by 2025 and to move countries up the ladder of better sanitation infrastructure and services, the statement said. We can achieve this goal and transform the lives of billions of people over the next several years. It will take real commitment and action from the Heads of State of our client countries, as well as collaboration with all of our partners in civil society and the private sector, explained the statement. To achieve this goal, the WB would take a global leadership role to advocate that countries make the required investments to meet their sanitation targets and eliminate open defecation, which affects the poorest 40 percent in these countries and work with domestic and global private sector and other partners to scale up efforts to meet demand from households and communities for sanitation products and services, moving from open defecation to improved latrines to improved waste management. The WB would also work closely with countries where open defecation is most prevalent to ensure that the banks lending and evidence-based knowledge is supporting improved sanitation service delivery, such as through effective monitoring and use of data. The announcement coincides with World Bank-IMF Spring meetings side event on investing in sanitation and on the heels of a call by UN Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson last month to end open defecation by 2025. "I am determined to mobilise major players, on behalf of the UN Secretary-General, to boost sanitation efforts and end open defecation by 2025, Eliasson is quoted to have said. I applaud the World Bank's commitment in this area, and look forward to working closely with the World Bank as part of the partnership between our organizations. The Bretton Woods institution has less than 1,000 days of action before the 2015 target date for the Millennium Development Goals. While we have made great improvements towards all the Goals, sanitation is the target where we have made least progress, and we urgently need to scale up investment. This is an issue of fundamental human dignity, and the health of people and the environment, the statement said. The statement quoted WB Vice President of Sustainable Development Rachel Kyte as saying: Poor sanitation is often ignored because people dont like to talk about it, much less act on it. We cannot ignore this any longer. Environmental conditions from poor sanitation are already in jeopardy around the world. Increasing volatility from extreme weather conditions will make this even worse. We know how to do it. Its time to act. The World Bank, the statement explained, is exploring ways of scaling up access to sanitation through new kinds of partners, such as software developers, to learn how new technology-enabled mobile phone applications can address sanitation sector needs. It is reported that one out of every three people in the world have no toilet, thus go to the bathroom in rivers or fields, unknowingly spreading germs that cause diarrhea disease - the second leading cause of death in children under five. SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN

Thread starter BabuK
Start date Apr 22, 2013

BabuK

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Poor sanitation costs Tanzania 301bn/- yearly

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