Sri Lanka: new partnership tackles fecal sludge management

Septage disposal. Sri Lanka/Nuwara Eliya sanitation project, 2008, Photo: Flickr/USAID.

An international research institute is helping the government of Sri Lanka to improve septage management in the country.

On 8 May 2013, the Colombo-based International Water Management Institute (IWMI) and the Ministry of Water Supply and Drainage signed a Memorandum of Understanding that provides a collaborative framework for sustainable septage management in Sri Lanka.

IWMI will contribute research data for the drafting of a septage management component of the national sanitation policy. The Ministry will lead implementation of the policy through an advisory committee headed by Minister Dinesh Gunawardena.

Only about 3% of Sri Lankans have a sewerage connection while the rest rely on latrines and septic tanks for sanitation. Safe disposal of septage (fecal sludge) is a problem because of a lack of treatment facilities in large parts of the country.

IWMI is studying a new approach in cities around the world, which treats the sludge so that it can be safely reused as agricultural fertiliser. With the rising costs of imported fertiliser, such an approach would not only benefit farmers but also allow better sanitation and environmental protection for all.

Related news:

• The business of the honey-suckers in Bengaluru (India), E-Source, 27 Sep 2012
• WASHplus Weekly: Focus on Fecal Sludge Management, Sanitation Updates, 30 Nov 2012

Related web sites:

• IWMI - Resource Recovery and Re-use
• Ministry of Water Supply and Drainage
• SuSanA - WG 5 – Food security and productive sanitation systems and Library – Fecal sludge management

 Source: IWMI, 8 May 2013

Latinosan Panamá 2013 – 3rd Latin American Sanitation Conference, 29-31 May 2013

The Republic of Panama is organizing the Third Latin American Sanitation Conference on 29-31 May 2013. The theme is:  “Universal Sanitation: New Challenges, New Opportunities”.

Latinosan is held every three years.

Latinosan 2013 consists of two events: a technical conference and a meeting of senior officials that will result in the Declaration of Panama.

Main topics:

• the status of sanitation at regional and country levels
• institutions and public policy
• human rights and sustainable development
• post-2015 goals: regional and global

For more information visit the conference website: latinosanpanama2013.com (Spanish only)

Sustaining sanitation – Pan European Networks interviews Joep Verhagen

In an interview with Pan European Networks, IRC Senior Sanitation Specialist Joep Verhagen explains how sanitation efforts need to begin to increase their focus on sustainability.

EU aid for water and sanitation hit a record €1.6bn in 2009, but in March 2012 the EU announced plans to redirect development to ‘the world’s neediest nations’ with fears that this could harm sanitation efforts in Latin America, Asia and possibly some sub-Saharan African countries. Joep Verhagen shares his thoughts on the EU plans and on how knowledge-sharing partnerships and research are helping to provide sustainable solutions to existing rural and urban sanitation problems.

Read the full interview

SACOSAN-V – South Asian Conference on Sanitation, 11-13 November 2013, Kathmandu, Nepal

Heads of delegation from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka will join other delegates from government, UN agencies, civil society and private sector to once again discuss the “biggest sanitation challenge in the world”.

There are around 700 million South Asians who still defecate in the open. At SACOSAN-IV held in April 2011 in Sri Lanka, South Asian ministers promised to set up a national body in each country to “coordinate sanitation and hygiene, involving all stakeholders”.

SACOSAN-V is being organised by the Nepal Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD), Department of Water Supply and Sewerage (DWSS).

The SACOSAN-V theme is: ”Sanitation for All : All for Sanitation”.

Programme outline: Public Opening (10 November), Meeting of Ministers, Technical focus sessions, Plenaries, Public sessions, Panel discussions, Declarations, Exhibitions, Field visits (14 November).

Session topics (Download Concept Paper):

Topic	Lead Country	Partner involved
Sanitation and Health	Afghanistan	UNICEF
Community Wide Sanitation and Sustainability	Bangladesh	WSP
School Sanitation	Bhutan	WHO
Reaching the Unreached	India	FANSA
Sanitation Technology and Marketing	Maldives	WHO
Media Advocacy and Sanitation	Nepal	WaterAid
Urban Sanitation	Pakistan	WaterAid
Knowledge Management and Networking	Sri Lanka	UNICEF

For more information go to: www.sacosanv.gov.np

WaterAid’s Hygiene Framework

This document sets out WaterAid’s framework for hygiene promotion and behaviour change in the countries where it works. It will also help organisations that work on hygiene in the context of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) programmes. WaterAid has developed similar frameworks for sanitation and menstrual hygiene.

The framework’s structure is as follows:

• Part 1 gives a background to the framework
• Part 2 provides an overview of existing literature on hygiene promotion.
• Part 3 contains a brief history and overview of WaterAid’s hygiene-related work.
• Part 4 sets out key principles for country programmes on hygiene promotion, within the framework of a programme cycle.
• Part 5 outlines WaterAid’s minimum commitments for hygiene promotion work – these make up WaterAid’s policy on hygiene promotion

WaterAid, 2012. Hygiene framework. WaterAid, London, UK. 56 p. : 9 fig., 1 tab., photogr. Includes glossary and references. Available at: http://washurl.net/6fyfgy

Africa: AMCOW gets US$ 2 million Gates grant to build national sanitation capacities

The African Ministers Council on Water (AMCOW) has been awarded a US$ 2 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to help countries build capacities for sanitation policy development, monitoring and advocacy.

AMCOW will use the 3-year grant for:

• technical guidance and training to four fragile counties to develop and adopt national sanitation and hygiene policies and plans
• organising the 4th AfricaSan conference and awards to boost implementation of the AfricaSan Action Plan and eThekwini ministerial commitments
• country support in using the African mechanism for water and sanitation monitoring, evaluation and reporting.

“Across the globe, about 2.6 billion do not have access to safe sanitation. Africa accounts for almost 40 percent of these figures.” said Bai Mass Taal, AMCOW Executive Secretary.

AMCOW is an initiative of African Ministers responsible for water and a Specialized Technical Committee on water and sanitation for the African Union.

In 2011, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation launched its Reinvent the Toilet initiative at AfricaSan 3 in Kigali, Rwanda.

Source: AMCOW, 18 Dec 2012

WASH in Schools e-debate results feed into key international working groups

From September to November 2012, IRC hosted three e-debates around topics inspired by the SWASH+ Project, an action-research school WASH project in Kenya.

The results from the debates have infiltrated key international working groups. These include the JMP Post-2015 Working Groups, the Sustainable Sanitation Alliance (SuSanA) and the UNICEF WASH in schools working group.

The three e-debates attracted 27 participants who submitted 31 arguments in total.

The e-debate questions were:

• Are the JMP Post-2015 indicators on WASH in schools a step in the right direction?
• Does external funding for WASH in Schools undermine national & local commitment?
• Will local governments ever be able to meet policy obligations?

Read the full summary report at:  http://www.washinschools.info/page/2396

Webinar: WASH in Schools, 13 December 2012

Webinar: WASH in Schools

National Policy Changed by WASH in Schools Research

Date: Thursday 13 December 2012

Time: 14:30 – 15:30 CET (Central European Time)
19:00 – 20:00 New Delhi
16:30 – 17:30 Nairobi
08:30 – 09:30 New York

Presenters:

Mamita Bora Thakkar, UNICEF India
Brooks Keene and Jason Oyugi, CARE

Whether you like it or not, governments have a role to play in effective implementation of WASH in Schools programmes. This webinar will explore how national policy is influenced by the work of UNICEF in India and SWASH+ in Kenya.

Combining experiences in Kenya and India, the webinar aims to do three things:

• examine how UNICEF India supports the Indian government in identifying and overcoming obstacles that prevent the achievement of sustainable WASH in Schools
• explore how the SWASH+ research helped change the national policy on school WASH in Kenya
  
• provide insights into how best to track progress and results.

Register here: https://www4.gotomeeting.com/register/428349031

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

Space is limited so please reserve your Webinar seat on time if you want to participate.

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Contact organisers

Ingeborg Krukkert, IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre
Krukkert@irc.nl

Malaika Cheney-Choker, CARE USA
mcheneycoker@care.org

India’s “sanitation crusader” Minister Jairam Ramesh stripped of post

Minister Jairam Ramesh and Bollywood actress and sanitation ambassador Vidya Balan at the launch of the Nirmal Bharat Yatra sanitation campaign. Photo: UNI

In a cabinet reshuffle Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh has been stripped of his additional post as Minister of State for Drinking Water and Sanitation [1]. His successor is Bharatsin Madhavsinh Solanki, a former railway minister and a Member of Parliament representing Gujarat’s Anand district.

News agency PTI reported that sources in Ramesh’s office were disappointed that their Minister was being replaced [2].

The Minister has been passionate about sanitation-related issues which he brought it in the limelight, they said, adding that Ramesh also managed to get additional funds to carry out the projects.

African Sanitation Think Tank to be launched at high level meeting

Water and Sanitation for Africa (WSA) will launch the African Sanitation Think Tank (ASTT) at a high level forum in Senegal this December. The aim of the think thank is show how sanitation policies can be translated into action on the ground.

The initial ASTT activities will be based on the interim findings from two WSA studies – ‘Economic and Financial Models for Pricing and Setting Sanitation Tariffs for the benefit of the Urban Poor’ and ‘On-site Sanitation’.

The ASTT launch will take place during the 2nd Africa High Level Forum on Water and Sanitation for all, which is scheduled for 12-14 December 2012 in Dakar, Senegal. The theme of the forum is “Innovative Financing and Investments to accelerate access to water and sanitation in Africa”.

Other sanitation-related highlights of the forum include:

• a session led by His Royal Highness Prince of Orange on UNSGAB’s ‘Sanitation Drive to 2015’ Initiative
• Innovations Fair – Re-Invent the Toilet: Africa
• Launch of the Sanitation and Water for Africa Development Initiative Fund (SWADIF)

Related web sites:

• 2nd Africa High Level Forum on Water and Sanitation for all
• Water and Sanitation for Africa (WSA)
• UNSGAB – ‘Sanitation Drive to 2015’