FACT SHEET

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SHARING EXPERIENCES: SUSTAINABLE SANITATION IN SOUTH EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC

 Publication facts:

·The publication is a collaborative effort between WaterAid Australia and International WaterCentre. Funding support was provided by Australian Ethical Investment Ltd. Printing and dissemination costs were supported by the Australian Government through the Australian Water Research Facility (AWRF).

·The publication focuses on what worked, what didn’t work and why, with the overall goal of facilitating knowledge exchange on practical application of low-cost sustainable sanitation in the region.

·The main audience for this publication includes practitioners involved in the implementation of sanitation initiatives.

·Nine case studies from: Indonesia, Vietnam, Vanuatu, Fiji, Timor Leste, Papua New Guinea, Tonga, Tuvalu, Kiribati.

·Case studies highlight the work of organizations including: WSLIC 2, Plan in Vietnam, World Vision, The AusAID, Three Delta Towns Water Supply and Sanitation Project, SOPAC, WaterAID Australia, ATprojects, World Toilet Organization.

Key improvements related to the case studies:

·The WSLIC 2 project in Indonesia used a Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) approach which has empowered communities to take collective action to ensure 156,995 people live in villages that are 100% free of open defecation.

·Plan in Vietnam introduced locally produced latrines which reduced household toilet cost by almost 55% and enabled poor farmers to safely reuse human fertilizer for their farms.

·The World Vision project in Vanuatu increased access to sanitation by 25% and made safe water accessible in seven villages. Access to potable water resulted in better diets in households and increased hygiene practices.

·The 3 Delta Towns project in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam used a revolving loan scheme to improve access to household septic tank toilets for 22,500 people.

·The SOPAC Sanitation Park in Fiji showcases a range of sanitation technologies. It has become a training site for local villagers, health workers and students.

·In a record 42 days from the commencement of WaterAID Australia’s pilot CLTS sanitation program in Timor Leste, total sanitation coverage in five target villages was achieved. The success of the program has resulted in an inter-agency workshop and training programs to promote the CLTS approach.

·The ATproject in PNG promoted hygiene among school children and designed and constructed the locally ‘ATloo’ toilets in schools. The positive results of the project sparked a growing interest in the program in other schools and a demand for sanitation in households.

·The World Toilet Organization project in Aceh, Indonesia has used a community toilet and biogas technology to help introduce the concept ecological sanitation whilst restoring normalcy to communities affected by the 2004 Asian Tsunami.

·Ecological sanitation training workshops for communities in the Pacific Islands provided theoretical knowledge and practical skills for the participants, which they passed on to their home island communities in Kiribati, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, and Tonga.

Sanitation facts: South East Asia and the Pacific

·185 million people in South East Asia and the Pacific lack access to improved sanitation.

·10 of the region’s 22 countries are not on track to meet the Millennium Development Goals target for sanitation in 2015.

·In South East Asia and the Pacific 80,000 children under five die each year of diarrhoea diseases translating to one child every seven minutes.

·The annual benefits to the region of meeting the Millennium Development targets on water and sanitation include:

         42 million less cases of diarrhoea

         18 million more school days and 167 million more work days, equating to AU$936 million in direct health savings; and

         Total economic benefits of over AU$15 billion

 ·The annual costs of meeting the MDG targets in terms of investment in the region would be AU$6.4 billion.

·In South East Asia and the Pacific, the number of people without access to sanitation is double the number without water supply.

·The number of people without sanitation in rural areas of the region is more than three times that of urban dwellers.

 Ends

For more information:  

Contact:           

Agnese Middleton
International WaterCentre
07 3221 1772a.middleton@watercentre.org www.watercentre.org