Call to ensure safe water, sanitation in flood-hit areas

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BOGRA, Aug 2 (UNB): Speakers at a workshop called for ensuring safe water and sanitation in the country's flood-hit areas to protect people from health hazards.
They said this at a workshop titled "Water, Sanitation and Hygiene" jointly organized by BRAC and Bogra District Administration held at Bogra Circuit House on Monday with Deputy Commissioner Humayun Kabir in the chair.
"No measures have yet been taken for ensuring sanitation in the flood affected areas when the sanitary latrines collapsed by flood-water," said Faruque Ahmed, Director of BRAC Health Programme.
They called upon government and non-government organizations and donor agencies to come forward for protecting people from health hazards by ensuring sanitation and drinking water.
They said unsafe water and lack of sanitation in the flood affected areas cause various water-borne diseases including diarrhoea and dysentery.
They also laid emphasis on creating mass awareness, including ensuring availability of sanitation equipment and supply of drinking water for poor people, to achieve a cent percent sanitation in the country by 2010.
It mentioned that sanitation coverage in the district was 82 percent before the current flood.
Some 70 persons, including all UNOs of the district and other representatives from government and non-government organizations, took part in the workshop, moderated by BRAC AHRU Manager M Ruhul Amin. A documentary on BRAC WASH activities was shown in the workshop.
Director of BRAC Health Programmes Faruque Ahmed, chief of Development Cooperation of Netherlands Embassy Fritz Meijndert, Additional Deputy Comm-issioner Mizanur Rahman, Milon Kanti Barua of WASH programme, Civil Surgeon Nurunnahar, among others, spoke at the workshop.