2cr still drink arsenic-laced water: Unicef

About two crore people are still drinking arsenic-contaminated water in the country, while only 53 percent of its population has access to improved sanitation facilities.
However, the practice of open defecation has been significantly reduced to 7 per cent from 33 per cent in 1990, Unicef said here yesterday on the occasion of the first annual high-level meeting of a new global partnership, Sanitation and Water for All, that began in Washington the same day.
It also said at least 2.5 billion cases of diarrhoea occur in children under five years of age every year in the world and an estimated 1.5 million children die from it annually.
“Huge savings in health care costs and gains in productive days can be realized by improving access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene – amounting to some 2% to over 7% of gross domestic product, depending on the region,” the UNICEF said in a release issued simultaneously from Washington and Dhaka.
With only five years remaining to reach the 2015 Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target of halving the proportion of people living without access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation, the meeting has been convened to stimulate urgent action towards ensuring that access to sanitation and safe drinking water becomes a reality for the billions who still live without it.
Hosted by UNICEF, the high-level meeting is bringing together 35 ministers from developing countries, donors and development agencies for the united goal of achieving universal and sustainable access to sanitation and drinking water.
A high level delegation, including Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith and LGRD and Cooperatives Minister Syed Ashraful Islam, is representing Bangladesh in the meeting.

Courtesy of BSS via The Daily Star