As per a WHO report, by the end of 2012, 64% of the global population used improved sanitation facilities which means almost 1 of every 3 person still have less / no access to proper sanitation. What steps should be taken to make it a near 100% of the same?
Educating the people is must for anything to introduce and to compel people to follow. In developing & under developed countries or where the democracy prevails... it is very much difficult to bring new things. People should know about the best for themselves and their moral values. Also, government has to bring strict rules and regulations without giving any relaxation. Once basic or improved sanitation facilities have been set up people have to follow and use the facilities.
But the corruption in developing & under developed countries does not meet the criteria and thus, the rich gets richer and poor gets poorer.
Therefore, to bring any new or improved facility Education, Strict rules and regulations are required.
The concept of improved sanitation as defined under target 7c (MDG 7) is unclear. Its objective seems to address a public health goal (and a service to people), yet it is defined under MDG 7 which is on "Environmental Sustainability". We must recognise that our current concept of providing large quantities of drinking water that are tunred into sewage is not at all 'environmentally sustainable'.
We need a paradigm shift in urban water management, including in the drinking water and sanitation services. To use cristal clear, zero-coliform drinking water for the sole purpose to transport excreta out of the city is irrational and presents both an environmental and public health issue.The sustainable city of the future (say by mid century) will most probably no longer use flush toilets. A solution might be to use vacuum as a means of transport, which also helps to channel the waste (feacal matter) via a solid waste management route, rather than a very costly wastewater management route. This could result in decentralised fully automated underground composting systems (scale 5-20,000 households), where the feacal matter is co-composted with organic fraction of municipal solid waste and converted into methane gas (which will generate energy for the vacuem system, and has plenty of energy left for heating/couling of houses). We need innovation to develop sustainable cities, and the design of suitable water management systems in cities forms an essential component in getting there.
It has also been noted that lack of knowledge about the essence of improved sanitation is one of the main reasons for the low uptake of improved sanitation in developing countries. Thus, in trying to meet the quest for access to improved sanitation by all, development agency and governments should create demand for sanitation through sensitisation of the community. On strategy would be to use the 'name it and shame' approach which has been shown to trigger the community realise the need for improved sanitation. A sensitised community is more likely to contribute through various means including labour during sanitation projects and this turns to be more sustainable
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