'Social mobilisation' at grassroot level stressed for achieving cent per cent sanitation
Thursday, 13 March 2008
TANGAIL, Mar 12 (UNB): Speakers at a workshop stressed the need for facilitating capacity building for 'social mobilisation' at grassroot level to achieve cent percent sanitation in the country by 2010.
"We should devote to the commitment of ensuring sanitation, hygiene and safe drinking water to make the nation healthy and prosperous for our next generation", said Deputy Commissioner of the district Akhter Uddin Sarker while addressing, as the chief guest, the workshop held at Zila Parisad auditorium Tuesday.
Additional Deputy Commi-ssioner M Yusuf Ali presided over the advocacy workshop on 'Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Programme,' jointly organised by BRAC and District Administration.
Speaking as a special guest chief of BRAC Health Programme Milan Kanti Barua said social mobilisation, a broad scale movement to attract people's participation in achieving a specific development goal through self-reliant efforts, is needed in the community to ensure safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene in the country.
The speakers underscored the need for formulating laws on water, sanitation and hygiene issues with the provision of charging fine as many wealthy people in the country do not want to set up sanitary latrines and maintain hygiene.
People's attitude and behaviour should be changed alongside creating awareness and increasing knowledge toward sanitation and hygiene related issues in achieving cent percent sanitation in the country, they said.
Executive Engineer of district Public Health Engineering Department Shamsul Haque Pramanik, Additional Deputy Commissioner (Revenue) Abul Hasan and BRAC WASH committee member secretary Shahnaz Begum and SM Shahzada Zaman, among others, spoke at the workshop.
Anwar Hossain of district Public Health Engineering Department and BRAC WASH Programme Regional Manager Rafiqul Islam presented separate papers at the workshop.
The papers gave some guidelines to ensure overall sanitation in the country, which among others include, setting up sanitary latrine production centres at remote areas, ensuring water seal of the latrines, financial supports from Annual Development Programme (ADP) to the extreme poor, motivation about sanitation through mosques and educational institutions, setting up public bathrooms at hats and bazaars while public toilets at cities and towns as well as strengthening publicity through mass media.
"We should devote to the commitment of ensuring sanitation, hygiene and safe drinking water to make the nation healthy and prosperous for our next generation", said Deputy Commissioner of the district Akhter Uddin Sarker while addressing, as the chief guest, the workshop held at Zila Parisad auditorium Tuesday.
Additional Deputy Commi-ssioner M Yusuf Ali presided over the advocacy workshop on 'Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Programme,' jointly organised by BRAC and District Administration.
Speaking as a special guest chief of BRAC Health Programme Milan Kanti Barua said social mobilisation, a broad scale movement to attract people's participation in achieving a specific development goal through self-reliant efforts, is needed in the community to ensure safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene in the country.
The speakers underscored the need for formulating laws on water, sanitation and hygiene issues with the provision of charging fine as many wealthy people in the country do not want to set up sanitary latrines and maintain hygiene.
People's attitude and behaviour should be changed alongside creating awareness and increasing knowledge toward sanitation and hygiene related issues in achieving cent percent sanitation in the country, they said.
Executive Engineer of district Public Health Engineering Department Shamsul Haque Pramanik, Additional Deputy Commissioner (Revenue) Abul Hasan and BRAC WASH committee member secretary Shahnaz Begum and SM Shahzada Zaman, among others, spoke at the workshop.
Anwar Hossain of district Public Health Engineering Department and BRAC WASH Programme Regional Manager Rafiqul Islam presented separate papers at the workshop.
The papers gave some guidelines to ensure overall sanitation in the country, which among others include, setting up sanitary latrine production centres at remote areas, ensuring water seal of the latrines, financial supports from Annual Development Programme (ADP) to the extreme poor, motivation about sanitation through mosques and educational institutions, setting up public bathrooms at hats and bazaars while public toilets at cities and towns as well as strengthening publicity through mass media.