Call for transforming sanitation campaign into social movement

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RAJSHAHI, Sept 13 (BSS): Speakers at an advocacy meeting in the city Saturday underscored the need for transforming the sanitation campaign into social movement for building a healthy society.
In this context, they also underlined the need for a concerted effort of all quarters particularly the community people side by side with the government efforts to attain total sanitation coverage by 2010.
The hygienic sanitation campaign should be successful for the sake of keeping the environment free from pollution side by side with saving people from being infected by water-borne diseases.
They opined that motivation and involvement of the affluent section of the society in the campaign would help reduce dependence on government allocation and foreign aid to this effect.
District Administration and Department of Public Health Engineering (DPHE) jointly organised the meeting at the conference hall of Deputy Commissioner to gear up the 'National Sanitation Campaign-2008' as well as to mark the National Sanitation Month-2008 in October.
Two non-government organisations (NGOs) -- Water Aid Bangladesh and VERC -- extended support to arrange the meeting.
Deputy Commissioner Shefaul Karim addressed the meeting as the chief guest with DPHE Executive Engineer Saifur Rahman in the chair.
Deputy Secretary of Fisheries and Livestock Ministry Shafiqul Islam, WaterAid Bangladesh Country Director Saik Ishtiaque Ali Zinna and VERC Program Officer Toufika Popy also spoke in the meeting .
Speakers called upon the field level government officials and public representatives to engage community and religious leaders at the grassroots in the campaign so that it could be turned into a social movement.
The speakers said success of total hygienic sanitation programme depended on its sustainability and the NGOs, members of civil society and affluent people would have to play the key role side by side with government efforts to make the programme a success.
Around 100 persons including Upazila Nirbahi Officers, officials from the DPHE, public representatives, development activists and members of the civil society attended the meeting.