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UN report hails Sulabh

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI JULY 13. The recently released Human Development Report, 2003, of the United Nations Development Programme has praised the work of Sulabh International -- a non government organisation -- for what it asserts as the pioneering work in not only disposing human waste in a socially acceptable way, but also in an affordable manner.

The NGO, which runs more than 5,500 community toilets in the country including over a hundred in Delhi, has been applauded for its approach in dealing human waste. The Human Development Report in its fourth chapter on "Public Policies to Improve People's Health and Education'' has given a separate box on Sulabh's achievement, probably the only Indian NGO which has been acknowledged by UNDP in the Report.

It's approach is based on partnership with local government, backed by community participation and has substantially improved environmental quality in rural and urban slums by poor people, it said.

Referring to the large-scale open defecation here, the Human Development Report said Sulabh's solution was a low-cost, pour-flush water-seal toilet with leach pits for the on-site disposal of human waste.

"The technology too is affordable as the designs of toilet complexes suits various income level,'' it said. Unlike the modern toilets which use 10 litres of water for flushing, the Sulabh's toilets require only two litres,'' the report said.

It was probably for these reasons that recently a delegation from Afghanistan came to the Capital to have deliberation with the Sulabh's officials here so that they could establish 500 similar community toilets in Kabul. The NGO has agreed to help the Kabul administration in its endeavour. This week, a South African team had come to the Capital to seek technical support of the Sulabh to streamline the sanitation system in their country.

The Report said since 1970, when it was established, Sulabh has constructed more than 10 lakh such units in the country. On the 5,500 community toilet complexes being run by it, the report said, these included facilities for bathing and doing laundry and offer free services to children and disabled people. As a result, more than one crore people have received improved "and low-cost sanitation and has created as many as 50,000 jobs,'' it said.

Appreciating the Sulabh's s door-to-door campaign to provide free health education to lakhs of people, the report said the NGO also trains local people to construct more latrines themselves and has helped set up and maintain fee-based community toilets in the slums and other areas.

The Human Development Report, 2003, observed that there was a pressing need to provide technologies that people want to use. The best way to do so is through products, which match consumers demand in both price and quality like the one offered by Sulabh, it said.

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