Health

Since its foundation in 1968, the IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre (IRC) has facilitated the sharing, promotion and use of knowledge so that governments, professionals and organisations can better support poor men, women and children in developing countries to obtain water and sanitation services they will use and maintain The Source Water and Sanitation News Service from IRC provides news in English, French and Spanish with an emphasis on rural and peri-urban areas in developing countries. The current Source South Asia Water & Sanitation News edition has a wide range of articles. Some highlights are: Asia: Unilever to replicate Project Shakti on other international markets - https://www.irc.nl/page/46761 Afghanistan: OCHA Humanitarian Action Plan's Appeal for water and sanitation - https://www.irc.nl/page/46636 {C}

In order to sensitise people towards health and hygiene, Public Health Engineering Department (PHED), Government of Bihar, WaterAid and UNICEF have taken up a month long Gram Gaurav Yatra to promote sanitation in Bihar. PHED Minister Ashwani Kumar Choubey announced the launch of Bihar Gram Gaurav Rath Yatra on January 28 that embarked on a Movement towards the noble mission of restoring human dignity and the self-esteem of rural Indians through the "GRAM GAURAV YATRA".

Since its foundation in 1968, the IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre (IRC) has facilitated the sharing, promotion and use of knowledge so that governments, professionals and organisations can better sup

  Since its foundation in 1968, the IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre (IRC) has facilitated the sharing, promotion and use of knowledge so that governments, professionals and organisations can better su

Vishwanath calls on all to set aside the "yuck" factor and take a rational view of the use of urine as a fertilizer. From a open discussion he goes on to list out the advantages of using plant nutrient rich urine as fertilizer and provides the maths behind his validation!! Write in with your take in the comments!

IIT Delhi and Vigyan Vijay Foundation have been implementing a pilot project on Waterless Urinals. The project is supported by Stockholm Environmental Institute and UNICEF. These posters below have been developed as part of that project. The project aims to develop appropriate solutions for scaling-up Waterless Urinals at public places, institutions and homes. One of the core objectives of the project is to advocate waterless urinals as an integral component of toilets especially at homes whereby water and energy can be conserved and the environment is protected. We hope these posters will be of immense value to general public and practitioners looking for undertaking waterless urinals. For more information contact Ramesh Sakthivel , ramsakthivel@yahoo.com

Click below to View Posters in full size :

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The Government of India, Ministry of Urban Development recently released the National Urban Sanitation Policy. We attach the document below, as well as key excerpts. We request you to add your comments below regarding the provisions of the Sanitation Policy. Click here to view the National Urban Sanitation Policy The document is quite comprehensive and detailed. It lays out a vision for urban sanitation in India. It instructs states to come up with their own detailed state-level urban sanitation strategies and City Sanitation Plans. It moots the idea of totally sanitised and open-defecation cities as a target and the setting up of a multi-stakeholder City Sanitation Task Force to achieve this. Environmental considerations, public health implications and reaching the unserved and urban poor are given significant emphasis in the policy. Funding options are laid out including direct central and state support including through existing schemes, public-private partnerships, and external funding agencies. It directs that atleast 20% of the funds should be earmarked towards servicing the urban poor. The Center also plans to institute awards to the best performing cities, reminiscent of the Nirmal Gram Puraskar awards for villages. Important Excerpts from the Policy: