Full Coverage: Water/sanitation

27.11.2007 Current sanitation systems will not help in reaching the Millennium Development Goal, concluded experts at the recent meet of the World Toilet Association (WTA) at Seoul. Flush toilets have to become eco-friendly as newer ways to dispose human waste get developed.

23.11.2007 The United Nations has officially launched 2008 as the International Year of Sanitation to highlight the need for global investments in sanitation. About 42,000 people die every week from diseases caused by poor drinking water and the lack of toilets, while also being denied dignity, privacy, and in case of women – safety too.

22.11.2007 YK:n mukaan kaikkiaan yli kahdella ja puolella miljardilla ihmisellä ei ole käytössään kunnollisia wc- ja peseytymistiloja, ja arviolta puolitoista miljoonaa lasta kuolee vuosittain riittämättömän sanitaation aiheuttamiin sairauksiin. Maailmanjärjestö on julistanut ensi vuoden kansainväliseksi sanitaatiovuodeksi (engl.).

21.11.2007 Guanabaranlahti Rio de Janeiron edustalla Brasiliassa on osa lumoavan kaunista maisemaa. Todellisuus saasteineen on kuitenkin paljon kuvajaista karumpi: yritykset vesien puhdistamiseksi ovat toistaiseksi kuin pisara valtameressä.

19.11.2007 November 19 is World Toilet Day. WaterAid, an international NGO, brings out a report, The State of the World's Toilets, on the occasion. The report ranks the worst countries in the world for sanitation provision, with 40% of the world's population lacking somewhere safe to go to the toilet. India comes second on poor sanitation list.

16.11.2007 The UN in India has set up Legislators’ Forums with the state assemblies to assist legislators discuss developmental issues in a more structured manner. In its first meeting in the state of Rajasthan, the Forum focused on the issue of water.

16.11.2007 Learn how cities can do more with better management of water waste that gets generated everyday. Delhi based Centre of Science and Environment is conducting a course on waste water management from January 14-17, 2008 at its New Delhi premises. Registrations are now open.

14.11.2007 The recent visit by the Queen of Netherlands to a school for slum children, run by Delhi based NGO Deepalaya, brought cheer to young lives. The children shared their experiences and talents on personal cleanliness and healthy living with the royal visitor.

14.11.2007 The Indian government will collect data on more than half a million villages over the next six months to help ensure better development. Even after 60 years of Independence, there is a dearth of information on the real condition of villages where more than 70% of the population lives.

12.11.2007 The first Asia-Pacific Water Summit (APWS) will be held in Beppu, Oita prefecture, Japan on December 3-4, 2007. In a bid to make water security a priority in their respective countries and the region as a whole, government representatives, major stakeholders and institutions will be deliberating on the growing water crisis.

07.11.2007 Middle-class India’s preference for bottled water – which makes for a billion dollar industry – leaves the government free of its duty to provide pure and potable water to its people. Water expert and development analyst Sudhirendar Sharma says it’s time to regulate the bottled water industry and demand reliable and safe drinking water from the state.

06.11.2007 Kambodzhan pääkaupungin asukkaista 90 prosenttia on nyt laadukkaan vesihuollon piirissä. Vesi on kohtuuhintaista ja köyhät perheet säästävät myös polttopuukuluissa, kun juomavettä ei tarvitse keittää.

06.11.2007 Safe drinking water remains one of the biggest challenges in urban Asia-Pacific. Water experts are now debating whether water should be tagged a financial price to make consumers value clean water.

05.11.2007 UNITED NATIONS, Nov 5 (OneWorld) - No bathroom. No clean water to drink. No playground for kids except streets filled with filth and human waste. That is the picture of life for the world's 2 billion poorest -- a vast majority of whom are working in big cities of developing countries -- painted by an international summit recently concluded in India.

01.11.2007 Experts from 40 countries will seek solutions to improve people’s access to sanitation at the 7th World Toilet Summit that opened at New Delhi. Over 40% of the world’s poor are deprived of the basic toilet – which carries a strong impact on their health and dignity.