Urban sanitation
Thursday, 30 October 2008
NEARLY 60 per cent of the Dhaka dwellers do not have adequate sanitation facilities. This was reported in the press recently. This is worrying and also a major public health threat.
We know most of the people in rural areas cannot afford to install sanitary latrines while in the urban areas, especially in slums and habitats of low-income groups, open latrines are seen. Some of those latrines are near canals or other water bodies.
The government claims that 88 per cent of the families across the country have so far been brought under the coverage of sanitation. But according to the UNICEF, BRAC and the NGO Forum, sanitation facilities are available only to 33 to 39 per cent of the country's population. So it implies that a huge task lies ahead to bring the 150 million people of the country under safe sanitation programmes.
Here we can say that undertaking appropriate awareness campaigns is crucial to improving the situation. There are a number of NGOs that distribute sanitary latrines to poor families at free of cost in a bid to improve health and hygiene. The relevant government agencies can do the same. The government needs to wake up to the situation and take immediate actions. People should also be made aware of the public health risks of poor sanitation and hygiene through widespread social motivation programmes.
Ahmed Sobhan
Dhanmandi R/A
Dhaka
We know most of the people in rural areas cannot afford to install sanitary latrines while in the urban areas, especially in slums and habitats of low-income groups, open latrines are seen. Some of those latrines are near canals or other water bodies.
The government claims that 88 per cent of the families across the country have so far been brought under the coverage of sanitation. But according to the UNICEF, BRAC and the NGO Forum, sanitation facilities are available only to 33 to 39 per cent of the country's population. So it implies that a huge task lies ahead to bring the 150 million people of the country under safe sanitation programmes.
Here we can say that undertaking appropriate awareness campaigns is crucial to improving the situation. There are a number of NGOs that distribute sanitary latrines to poor families at free of cost in a bid to improve health and hygiene. The relevant government agencies can do the same. The government needs to wake up to the situation and take immediate actions. People should also be made aware of the public health risks of poor sanitation and hygiene through widespread social motivation programmes.
Ahmed Sobhan
Dhanmandi R/A
Dhaka