SACOSAN to enhance quality of peoples’ life: Mushahidullah

ISLAMABAD: Minister of Climate Change Mushahidullah Khan Tuesday said, SACOSAN conference was aimed to speed up the progress in sanitation and promote hygienic conditions in South Asia in order to improve quality of life.

Addressing the introductory conference in connection with 7th International three-day conference SACOSAN scheduled from April 11 -13, the minister said, SACOSAN intend to develop a regional agenda for sanitation which would enable to learn from past experiences and set productive goals for the future.

Mushahidullah said, overcoming the sanitation and hygienic crises was the most vital challenge in South Asia and tackling it would reduce unnecessary deaths besides facilitating people to live more dignified life, improve gender equality and health.

He said, the conference lauded the transition from Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and recognized that this will require a new vision strategies, strong system and more diverse participation.

Through SACOSAN we have recognized that access to sanitation and safe drinking water as a fundamental right, asserts that giving “national priority to sanitation is imperative” and significantly, the declaration commits member states to strengthen regional collaboration and promote independent monitoring, one of the key demand made by the civil society degradation.

The minister said he felt honour to host the conference for the second time as the first conference was held in Dhaka in 2003, second in Islamabad in 2006, third in New Delhi in 2008, fourth in Colombo in 2011, fifth in Kathmandu 2013 and sixth in Dhaka 2016.

The participating country from the south Asia are Afghanistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Maldives.

The heads of delegations from the participating SACOSAN member countries were also briefed about composition of their country delegation, sanitation situation (key challenges and government commitments) in their respective countries, and their expectations from the ministerial conference.