Despite progress, 12% of world still defecates in open: UNICEF chief
New Delhi, Oct 1 : UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore on Monday broke inspiring news ahead of Mahatma Gandhis 150th birth year that India has driven the greatest increase in the use of toilets in South Asia "at any time in history" over the last decade with over 240 million people using them after abandoning open defecation.
The biggest contribution in this progress was by India with as many as 86 million rural households since 2014 having gained access to toilets for the first time. "Five lakh villages and hundreds of districts and 21 states and union territories are now open-defecation free," said Fore, who is on her maiden visit to India.
She was delivering the keynote address at the Mahatma Gandhi International Sanitation Convention. As many as 70 countries are participating in the four-day event, which began at the Pravasi Bharatiya Kendra here, on September 30.
The UNICEF chief said the overall progress made by several countries was inspiring. "We're also seeing rapid results in Indonesia, Ethiopia, Nepal and Cambodia - all on track to eliminating open defecation by 2030. Or even earlier," she pointed out.
"Or Nigeria, Kenya, Niger, Burkina Faso, Togo and Mozambique - all have national roadmaps to deliver total access to sanitation, no matter where people live, no matter how distant or hard-to-reach their community might be," Fore noted with satisfaction.
In all, since 1990, 2.1 billion people globally have gained access to improved sanitation facilities. "A great result. One that improves health and nutrition outcomes for children, empowers women, boosts economic prosperity and growth for entire nations," Fore said.
The UNICEF chief, however, warned that this was still no time to celebrate.
"As we mark this progress, we must face a difficult fact: without urgent acceleration of our efforts, many countries will not reach the 2030 goal of sanitation for all.
"Especially when one in three people - 2.3 billion in all - still lack even a basic sanitation service. When 12 per cent of the world's population still practices open defecation. Or when nearly one quarter of all schools worldwide lack basic sanitation - risking the health and the lives of over 620 million children," she said.
"This is obviously a tragedy for the people affected. The children in rural areas or urban slums who have no choice but to practise open defecation because their communities lack basic services. Those who risk poor health and disease. Those children who are stunted by malnutrition in the earliest years. Or the girls who are denied an education because their schools lack separate toilets, or proper sanitation."
As always, the poorest and most disadvantaged are hardest hit. Lack of sanitation unfairly puts them at greater risk of disease and even death. "We also know that 90 per cent of those still practicing open defecation around the world live in 26 specific countries."
Fore said besides the human and social costs of poor sanitation, there was a huge economic cost involved. "According to the World Bank, poor sanitation results in an estimated global GDP loss of $260 billion annually, because of health costs and productivity losses."
She said the benefits of improved sanitation were significant.
"A recent study by the government of India found that within open-defecation free environments, households can save up to 50,000 rupees per year thanks to medical costs averted and time saved."
She announced that UNICEF had evolved "a specific, time-bound target: by 2021, our goal is to have 250 million fewer people practicing open defecation. This means improving sanitation in all the countries where we work - and we're committed to this."
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Another North Goa nightclub sealed; Kejriwal says corruption led to fire tragedy
Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.
Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.
Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.
An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.
The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.
A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.
Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."
"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.
"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.
A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.
