India Committed To Ensure Water, Sanitation To All: India At UN’s Human Rights Council

Geneva: India is committed to ensuring access to water and sanitation in all spheres of life beyond the household, particularly in public spaces, which is an essential element of the human rights to water and sanitation, said Vimarsh Aryan, First Secretary, India’s permanent mission to United Nation’s Office at Geneva (UNOG), at the 45th Session of the Human Rights Council.

Speaking in an interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur (SR) on ‘Human Rights to Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation, Vimarsh Aryan said,

We agree with the SR that the fulfilment of the human rights to water and sanitation cannot be accomplished in a short time frame and is often dependent on the availability and use of resources. I would like to share that last year Indian government undertook Jal Shakti Abhiyan, a campaign for water conservation and water security.

Also Read: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Project To Provide Tap Water To Each Household To Cost Rs. 7.88 Lakh Crore

He further said that India, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi believes in ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas’. He said,

“With the objective of citizen-centric governance we have accorded highest priority to ensuring access to water and sanitation for all citizens through two flagship programmes, the Swachh Bharat Mission and the Jal Jeevan Mission.”

Under the Swachh Bharat Mission, all Indian states have already declared themselves ‘Open Defecation Free’ by October 2, 2019, which implies that everyone in India has access to safe sanitation. A similar effort is underway under the ‘Jal Jeevan’ mission that aims to provide a functional household tap connection to all households in India, he added.

NDTV – Dettol Banega Swasth India campaign is an extension of the five-year-old Banega Swachh India initiative helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. It aims to spread awareness about critical health issues facing the country. In wake of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign highlights the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children to prevent maternal and child mortality, fight malnutrition, stunting, wasting, anaemia and disease prevention through vaccines. Importance of programmes like Public Distribution System (PDS), Mid-day Meal Scheme, POSHAN Abhiyan and the role of Aganwadis and ASHA workers are also covered. Only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and become a Swasth or healthy India. The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene.