Celebrating the 19th National Sanitation Week

Nepal celebrates annually a number of WASH related special days to achieve the national target of full coverage of WASH services. Nepal is committed to provide basic WASH services as people's fundamental right as it is mentioned in the Constitution of Nepal-2072. The National Sanitation Week has an objective to promote sustainable sanitation and hygiene behavior. To reach sustainable sanitation, harmful sanitation behavior must be changed, access to WASH services ensured and availability and affordability of WASH materials ensured. This blog post addresses why and how the 19th National Sanitation Week was celebrated in the program municipalities of the Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project in Western Nepal Phase II (RWSSP-WN II).

Why National Sanitation Week?

Nepal has made a commitment to improve WASH services in the Constitution-2072, Sanitation and Master Plan-2011, Local Government Operation Guideline-2074 and the Total Sanitation Guideline-2073. Nepal has also committed to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). SDG 6 has an objective to ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation by all by 2030.  The Fifth South Asian Conference on Sanitation declared to "recognize the importance of sustainable environmental sanitation and hygiene in urban areas including solid and liquid waste and fecal sludge management for all urban dwellers, regardless of tenure".  In Nepal, sanitation coverage (household toilet) was around 98.59 % as of 31st July, 2018. The use of toilet, hygienic maintenance of toilet and other Total Sanitation indicators need still special attention. According to the National Planning Commission, the WASH sector targets by 2030 are as following:

Source: National Planning Commission (2015) Sustainable Development Goals 2016-2030 National (Preliminary) Report.

Community-led and school-led Total Sanitation campaigns make efforts to ensure that everybody has a toilet and to improve toilet use and toilet maintenance. Community participation, leadership and mobilization are effective methods in sanitation campaigns. Training potential local triggers and leaders, increasing community awareness and supporting local organizations is needed to promote sanitation and to enhance local capacities. National Sanitation Week is a fertile time for commencing a great number of events and activities designed by local stakeholders.

Sanitation rally to promote environmental sanitation

What is done in the National Sanitation Week?

During the 19th National Sanitation Week that started on 5th of June, 2018, 91 events were organized in 32 Municipalities and Rural Municipalities of 12 RWSSP-WN II working districts. Major activities included essay an