Motivated by the UN's decision to declare 2008 as the International Year of Sanitation (IYS), a number of organisations active in the field of sanitation decided in 2007 to form an open network on Sustainable Sanitation to support the IYS.
- contribute to the achievement of the MDGs by promoting sanitation systems which take into consideration all aspects of sustainability
- raise awareness of what sustainable sanitation solutions are and promote them on a large scale
- highlight the key role of sanitation for achieving a whole series of MDGs showing how sustainable sanitation systems should be planned with the participation of all stakeholders and go hand in hand with hygiene promotion
- aim at a paradigm shift in sanitation by the promotion of reuse-oriented sanitation approaches without compromising health
- worldwide some 2.6 billion people without access to any kind of improved sanitation
- 2.2 million deaths caused by sanitation-related diseases and poor hygienic conditions
- most affected group: children under the age of 5
- progress towards the MDG in sanitation is much too slow, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia
- sanitation rarely receives the required attention and priority by politicians and civil societies alike despite its key importance on many other sectors and for achieving most of the MDGs
- the political will has been largely lacking when it comes to place sanitation high on the international development agenda
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