Mega sanitation plan to ensure clean Nepal
To meet the national target of universal access to basic sanitation facilities (access to toilets) by 2017, the government has approved the ambitious Sanitation and Hygiene Master Plan (2011-2017) after more than three years of its recognition in the country’s national plan in 2008. Approved on August 4, 2011, it will be vital in enabling the environment for institutional and financial mechanisms to meet the Millennium Development Goal and national targets in sanitation. Click here to read the full story.

Click here to download the Sanitation and Hygiene Master Plan (in Nepali and English versions).

Good Dignity Practices (GDP) for Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
The new Global WASH Campaign is here: Good Dignity Practices for Gross Domestic Product (GDP for GDP). The Global WASH Campaign, initiated by WSSCC in 2001, is a global advocacy movement around safe water, sanitation and hygiene. A new set of materials has been developed, themed GDP for GDP, focusing on the economic benefits to be gained from investing in sanitation while also stressing human dignity. For details, click here.

Learning and sharing activities under NWA programme
The WASH-RCNN will coordinate and implement learning and sharing activities planned under NWA’s urban programme planned for 2011 supported by Dutch WASH Alliance (DWA). The urban programme under NWA has been led by Lumanti and Environment and Public health Organization (ENPHO). WASH-RCNN has been discussing with rural lead organisations within NWA (Nepal Water for Health and Bio-gas Sector Partnership-Nepal) to figure out its role on learning and sharing activities under rural programme. WASH-RCNN is one of the core members of the NWA and has been facilitating/participating NWA meetings and workshops since April 2010.

Successful application of skills gained from training
Sarala Shrestha at Centre for Integrated Urban Development (CIUD) has been applying the skills gained from trainings on information management and use of social media provided by WASH-RCNN together with IRC, the Netherlands and British Council in Nepal. Recently, she provided trainings on writing for the web and creating blogs (e.g. http://www.alokhiti.com.np/) to the community group working to conserve traditional water sources (e.g. stone spouts) in Lalitpur, Nepal. CIUD is a non-governmental organisation working on community based urban management, sustainable development of poor settlement, and disaster management.

‘Learning question’
Do you think decentralisation of WASH resource centres (e.g. Regional WASH Resource Centre in Surkhet) will contribute to better learning and sharing in the WASH sector of Nepal? Please click here to send in your feedback!

Global Forum on Sanitation and Hygiene
October 9-14, 2011, Mumbai, India

Registrations now open for the WSSCC Global Forum on Sanitation and Hygiene, which takes place in Mumbai, India, from 9-14 October 2011. The meeting will be a leading platform to discuss and advance issues of importance to billions of people. To learn more, visit www.wsscc-global-forum.org

Empowerment of local bodies must in achieving the national sanitation target

The approval of the much-awaited Sanitation and Hygiene Master Plan (2011-2017) by the government earlier this month is an encouraging move towards materializing the national target of universal access to toilet by 2017. At a time when the government along with national and international partners, development agencies and donors are working tirelessly to strengthen the sanitation facilities across the country particularly in rural districts to meet the sanitation Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of achieving at least 53 percent toilet coverage by 2015 and universal toilet coverage by 2017, the decision to implement the Master Plan is timely and essential to mainstream the efforts of concerned stakeholders at various level. In the meantime, the formulation of the Master Plan is appropriate to facilitate the effective implementation of the Global Sanitation Fund (GSF) programme launched in 2010. More importantly, both, Master Plan and GSF envision the important role of local government bodies to provide water and sanitation facilities throughout the country. In the recent years, the local government bodies namely District Development Committees (DDCs), Village Development Committees (VDCs) and municipalities have recognised the initiation of promotional actions on sanitation to achieve Open Defecation Free (ODF) initiative through their annual planning. Therefore, the aid and participation of all these local stakeholders including local government agencies, organisations, donors and partners would be vital in promotion of hygiene and sanitation in the communities in more effective, inclusive and sustainable way.

Article by: Pragati Shahi, Reporter, The Kathmandu Post
E-mail: pragati.journo@gmail.com

Click here to read full article.

3rd learning activity on ‘Governance for Rural Sanitation and Hygiene’
SNV has started the third learning activity under the ‘Sustainable Sanitation and Hygiene for All’ programme that follows two earlier learning activities on "Performance monitoring and hygiene behavior change" organized during July and August, 2010 and on "Strengthening rural sanitation supply chains and access to finance" organized during November 2010 till January, 2011. The third learning activity is on “Governance for Rural Sanitation and Hygiene”. Click here to join the discussion group on Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Asia to make your contribution. Click here to learn more.

Photo exhibition organized
Water Aid in Nepal (WAN) along with local journalists organized a new photography exhibition on ‘School Sanitation: The Neglected Development Link’ that focuses on sanitation in schools in Kathmandu. The three-day photo exhibition explored how a lack of basic sanitation services in schools affects education in the Kathmandu Valley area through the lenses by photo journalists from Nepal. A total of 43 photos by different photo journalists namely Shruti Shrestha, Bijay Gajmer, Rajesh Gurung, Rocky Prajapati and Kabita Thapa were put in exhibition.

Follow this link to download the datasheet on district-wise (girl) students' access to sanitation in community school.