New York, United States - In a bid to improve the health and well-being of millions of people worldwide, the UN Tuesday launched a major push to accelerate progress towards the goal of halving, by 2015, the proportion of the population without access to basic sanitation. The initiative, tagged: ``Sustainable sanitation: The Five-Year-Drive to 2015', was established by the UN General Assembly in a resolution adopted last December. The resolution had called on UN member states to redouble efforts to close the sanitation gap, one of the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) that world leaders have pledged to achieve by 2015.

It also called for an end to open defecation, the most dangerous sanitation practice for public health and one practised by over 1.1 billion people who have no access to facilities.

Speaking at the launch, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said: ``Sanitation is a sensitive issue and it is an unpopular subject,' noting that, 'perhaps that is why the sanitation crisis has not been met with the kind of response we need.

``But, that must change and it is time to put sanitation and access to proper toilets at the centre of our development discussions,' he stated.

Ban also said that, ``ending open defecation, in particular, will not be easy,' adding that, 'it will require strong political commitment, a focused policy framework and reliable supply chains for both building and maintaining affordable latrines.'

He said: 'Most important of all, we need effective public education, so people understand the hazards of open defecation. We must convince people to change these unhealthy practices.'

Also speaking, UNICEF’s Executive Director, Anthony Lake said that, 'we can reduce cases of diarrhoea in children under five by a third and save an untold number of young lives by simply expanding the access of communities to sanitation.'

He also said that, ``focusing on total hygiene does more than improve health,' saying that, ``it can also improve the safety of women and girls, who are often targeted when they are alone outdoors.

``And providing safe, private toilets may also help girls stay in school, which we know can increase their future earnings and help break the cycle of poverty,' he added.

The Prince of Orange, Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, who is Chairperson of the UN Secretary-General’s Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation, noted that sanitation is arguably the most overlooked and less advanced MDG target.

``It is unglamorous, yet vital,” he stated, adding 'neglecting the need for proper toilets allows a slow moving crisis to continue.'

Willem-Alexander also said that, ``sanitation is vital for health, as it brings dignity, equality and safety, as well as represents a good economic investment and sustains clean environments.'

Access to sanitation has been recognized by the UN as a human right, a basic service required to live a normal life.

However, it said that some 2.6 billion people or half the population in the developing world still lack access to improved sanitation.

It also stated that children under five are the most vulnerable to poor hygiene and inadequate sanitation, two of the major causes of diarrhoea.

According to UNICEF, the disease kills at least 1.2 million children under five each year.

Pana 22/06/2011