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2cr people still drinking water with arsenic: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha . Dhaka

About two crore people are still drinking arsenic-contaminated water in Bangladesh, while only 53 per cent of its population has access to improved sanitation facilities.

However, the practice of open defecation has been significantly reduced to seven per cent from 33 per cent in 1990, UNICEF said on the occasion of the first annual high-level meeting of a New Global Partnership, Sanitation and Water for All, that began in Washington on Saturday.

It also said at least 2.5 billion cases of diarrhoea occur in children under five years of age every year in the world and an estimated 1.5 million children die from it annually.

‘Huge savings in health care costs and gains in productive days can be realised by improving access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene - amounting to some 2 per cent to over 7 per cent of gross domestic product, depending on the region,’ UNICEF said in a release issued simultaneously from Washington and Dhaka.

With only five years remaining to reach the 2015 Millennium Development Goal target of halving the proportion of people living without access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation, the meeting has been convened to stimulate urgent action towards ensuring that access to sanitation and safe drinking water becomes a reality for the billions who still live without it.

‘Safe drinking water, basic sanitation and hygiene are essential for the health and welfare of individuals as well as nations. Countries cannot make progress if millions of working days and school days are lost due to diseases caused by contaminated water, inadequate sanitation and poor hygiene, and if children are still dying from preventable causes such as diarrhoea,’ said Clarissa Brocklehurst, UNICEF chief of water sanitation and hygiene.

Hosted by UNICEF, the high-level meeting is bringing together 35 ministers from developing countries, donors and development agencies for the united goal of achieving universal and sustainable access to sanitation and drinking water.

A high level delegation including finance minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith and LGRD and cooperatives minister Syed Ashraful Islam will represent Bangladesh in the meeting.

Although Bangladesh is on track to achieve the MDG target for access to safe drinking water, arsenic contamination, increased salinity in groundwater in the coastal belt, declining groundwater levels, susceptibility to the impact of natural disasters posed significant risks to the availability of safe drinking water.

‘Bangladesh has to deal with very particular challenges undermining safe water and sanitation for all. However, the government is committed to providing safe water to all citizens by 2011,’ said Monzur Hossain, secretary of the Local Government Division.

He said a special fund of $200 million would be created to provide arsenic safe water. The sector development plan is being revised to provide clearer directions with the corresponding funding requirement, he added.

According to the current estimate, the sector requires $1.9 billion investment for the period of 2010-2015, with a funding gaps of $600 million.

At the meeting, Bangladesh will pledge to take necessary steps to reform service delivery, build the capacity of sector institutions and reduce the water supply and sanitation financing gap by at least one third.

‘Investing in improved sanitation and access to safe drinking water helps alleviate poverty disease and malnutrition, promotes universal primary education and reduces child mortality, all resulting in high economic returns or benefits, the UNICEF said.

It said improved sanitation and water in developing countries yield an average of about $9 for every one dollar spent, resulting in huge savings in health care costs and gains in productive days. By this measure, meeting the MDG target on sanitation and drinking water in the countries that are not on track could have an annual economic benefit of $38 billion.

Source: The New Age