delhi declaration. Poor Implementation or No Implementation (Thanks PIB>NIC>IN

SOUTH ASIAN COUNTRIES MEET ON SANITATION
	15:57 IST
	A two-day meeting of the Inter Country Working Group for South Asian Conference on Sanitation (SACOSAN) was inaugurated in New Delhi today by the Union Minister of Rural Development Dr. C.P.Joshi. Addressing the delegates, Dr. Joshi stated that ‘Sanitation has a strong connection not only with personal hygiene but also with human dignity and well-being, public health, nutrition and even education’. Quoting Mahatma Gandh’s dream of ‘total sanitation for all’ he said that cleanliness and sanitation were an integral part of the Gandhian way of living. Country Delegates from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Maldives, Bhutan, Nepal and India are participating in the meeting. Delegates / experts from UN, International Agencies like UNICEF, Water-AID,FANSA and WSP-SA are also participating in the meeting. Ms. Agatha Sangma, Minister of State of Rural Development, in her Presidential address emphasised the key role of women in achieving total sanitation and stressed that greater attention on the sanitation needs of adolescent girls is needed. Shri Shantanu Counsul, Secretary of the Department of Drinking Water Supply made suggestions for improving the reach and use of sanitation facilities in the region. The Inter Country Working Group meeting has been organized in pursuance of one of the commitments made in the Delhi Declaration adopted by the Third South Asian Conference on Sanitation held in New Delhi last year. It will deliberate upon various steps taken by member countries as a follow up of the commitments made in the Delhi Declaration. The next South Asian Conference on Sanitation is scheduled to be held in Sri Lanka in 2010. The meeting will also explore ways to build solidarity, resources networks and institutions and to promote inter Governmental and cross country co-operation to develop capacities to achieve sustainable sanitation. ***** AKT/ST/SAK