Sanitation facilities

Sanitation is the bedrock of public health. There is growing awareness of, and commitment to, sanitation goals in Bangladesh

It augurs well that more than 30,000 poor and slum households are enjoying sanitation facilities through commissioning of 11,000 hygienic latrines in Rajshahi city, according to a recent report of this newspaper. Bangladesh has a huge number of slum dwellers and the number will only increase with further urbanisation. Unfortunately many if not most of them have no access to basic rights such as fresh water and sanitation, education and health care services. Indeed, one of the limitations of Bangladesh’s national sanitation campaigns is that they have mostly focused on household latrine construction in rural areas, rather than on public toilets. Sanitation problems of all the slums should be addressed. It is a fact that open defecation, a filthy practice, has shown a declining trend in the country in recent years.
Even in rural areas a significant number of people are following sanitation rules. There are sufficient numbers of sanitary latrines in villages and open defection is now a rare thing. However, the practice of washing hands properly after defecation has not gained ground yet. As a result, scores of people, particularly those belonging to low income groups, are running the risk of developing stomach and intestine related diseases. The access to improved water sources can make the lives of community members healthier while the constructed toilets and bathing facilities may lead to improved hygiene practices.
Therefore, the local government bodies and community leaders can take up the responsibility to generate awareness among the people to follow hygienic rules through vigorous campaigns. Imams of mosques and religious leaders can also play vital roles in this regard. Due to lack of awareness many women living in slums do not practice healthy menstrual hygiene practices. The health department can motivate the women to shun this habit.
The food items that are being sold at makeshift eateries near slums are also unhygienic. This practice should be stopped forthwith in the interest of public health. The overall condition of slum people can be improved by launching poverty eradication programmes. Through introducing savings and credit programmes, slum dwellers can be motivated to operate their own saving schemes and create a revolving fund from which credit operations can be managed by themselves. Slum women can be motivated for poultry, goat rearing, beef fattening and agri-business allowing them to have access to regular income.

Sanitation facilities

Sanitation is the bedrock of public health. There is growing awareness of, and commitment to, sanitation goals in Bangladesh

It augurs well that more than 30,000 poor and slum households are enjoying sanitation facilities through commissioning of 11,000 hygienic latrines in Rajshahi city, according to a recent report of this newspaper. Bangladesh has a huge number of slum dwellers and the number will only increase with further urbanisation. Unfortunately many if not most of them have no access to basic rights such as fresh water and sanitation, education and health care services. Indeed, one of the limitations of Bangladeshs national sanitation campaigns is that they have mostly focused on household latrine construction in rural areas, rather than on public toilets. Sanitation problems of all the slums should be addressed. It is a fact that open defecation, a filthy practice, has shown a declining trend in the country in recent years. Even in rural areas a significant number of people are following sanitation rules. There are sufficient numbers of sanitary latrines in villages and open defection is now a rare thing. However, the practice of washing hands properly after defecation has not gained ground yet. As a result, scores of people, particularly those belonging to low income groups, are running the risk of developing stomach and intestine related diseases. The access to improved water sources can make the lives of community members healthier while the constructed toilets and bathing facilities may lead to improved hygiene practices. Therefore, the local government bodies and community leaders can take up the responsibility to generate awareness among the people to follow hygienic rules through vigorous campaigns. Imams of mosques and religious leaders can also play vital roles in this regard. Due to lack of awareness many women living in slums do not practice healthy menstrual hygiene practices. The health department can motivate the women to shun this habit. The food items that are being sold at makeshift eateries near slums are also unhygienic. This practice should be stopped forthwith in the interest of public health. The overall condition of slum people can be improved by launching poverty eradication programmes. Through introducing savings and credit programmes, slum dwellers can be motivated to operate their own saving schemes and create a revolving fund from which credit operations can be managed by themselves. Slum women can be motivated for poultry, goat rearing, beef fattening and agri-business allowing them to have access to regular income.