Ministry of Water & Housing

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Thousands of people worldwide die each week, as a result of diseases associated with poor sanitation.

This was stated by Chair for the Gender & Water Task Force in the Department of Economic & Social Affairs, United Nations, Kenza Kaouakib-Robinson, who pointed out that an estimated 42,000 lives are lost each week to diseases associated with poor water and inadequate sanitation.

She was addressing the Caribbean Sanitation Workshop (CaribSAN), at the Knutsford Court Hotel in Kingston, yesterday (April 28).

Ms. Kaouakib-Robinson told the gathering of local and regional non-governmental organizations (NGOs), officials of Ministries and United Nations officials who attended the workshop, that "there is no question that urgent intervention is required."

She cited the challenges facing developing countries and the need to develop sanitation policies as well as to place sanitation as a priority in national development policies.

"The International Year of Sanitation provides an opportunity for the community to galvanize action at all levels, to educate and raise awareness to make sure that this issue finds a place in the agenda of policy makers at the local and national levels and to engage the fullest attention of civil society," she urged, adding that "improving sanitation is indeed achievable."

In the meantime, Regional Team Leader for Latin America & the Caribbean, Water & Sanitation Programme at the World Bank, Francois Brikke, emphasised that, "sanitation is dignity, respect and development."

"We should not leave concerns about sanitation only to global and national bodies, but should also realize that this is a local issue," he implored.

The two-day Regional Workshop on the Integration of Sanitation Policies into National Development Plans of Caribbean Countries will end today (April 29).

Participants at the workshop are analyzing the current sanitation situation in Caribbean countries, looking at operational strategic issues and working at practical solutions to common problems.

On April 19 a group consisting of former members of the Task Force on Sanitation met to discuss the elements of the workshop, and decided on a list of issues which are of particular interest to Jamaica. The meeting agreed that Jamaica would aim to achieve specific goals from the workshop, which has been welcomed by Minister of Water and Housing, Dr. Horace Chang. Among the goals are:
(i) A commitment/agreement on action for the finalization of the Sanitation Policy;
(ii) Funding for sanitation;
(iii) Jamaica's commitment to the Millennium Development Goals, and;
(iv) The formation of an inter-ministerial, inter-agency Board to ensure the implementation of the Sanitation Policy.

Among the issues affecting the state of sanitation in Jamaica, according to the Preparatory Group, are the effects of climate change, the impact of disasters, including hurricanes, the loss of infrastructure, and the link between water, sanitation and hygiene behaviour change.

The workshop comes at a time when the Ministry of Water and Housing, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and the Environment, is taking steps toward the formation of a National Sanitation Policy. The process of re-engaging the National Safety Policy is expected to raise national attention on the issues of integrated water resources management and complement the work being done by the Task Force on Water and Sanitation, which is a component of Vision 2030 Jamaica.

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