“Sanitation cannot be limited to words”

Following is President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s address at the inauguration of the Ministerial Summit of the South Asian Conference on Sanitation on Wednesday:

Hon. ministers, excellencies, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, I am happy to see hon. ministers from the SAARC Region and other specialists in sanitation and related subjects visiting our country to participate in this South Asia Ministerial Summit on Sanitation.

You are gathered to discuss a key indicator of progress in societies. Proper and adequate sanitation has an important bearing on the health, social, economic and environmental betterment of a society.

As societies progress with increased populations in urban centres and the rural sector looks towards more development sanitation impacts on the wellbeing of the person, the family and the community. It is important for the good health of a society and improvement of conditions of those who are less advantaged.

Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, I am aware that we in the SAARC Region have made three important Ministerial Declarations to ensure good sanitation for our people. As with all other such declarations there is the necessity for the political will to implement them.

Sanitation for the people cannot be limited to words. It must be translated into action. In this context, it is important that all countries in our region seek to achieve the Millennium Development Goals with regard to sanitation.

Sri Lanka already has a commitment to provide universal access to water and good sanitation by the year 2020. We are confident of achieving this, as we have already achieved the Millennium Development Goals in a key area such as the lowest maternal mortality rate in South and South East Asia.

We are well on the way to achieving the MDGs in universal primary education, gender parity in primary education, and maternal and child health. Our country is on course to achieve the MDG target for declining poverty by 2015. Sanitation and related good hygiene plays a significant role in all of this.

Friends, it is necessary to note that there are areas in the field of sanitation to which, Sri Lanka and other countries of our region need to pay greater attention. These include sanitation in schools, facilities for the differently-abled, the adequate provision of toilets in public places, and very importantly, sustainable arrangements for the care and maintenance of these amenities.

At a time when the world is faced with so many disasters both natural and man-made, it is also necessary to be prepared to face the sanitation needs in such situations. Sri Lanka can take reasonable pride in our ability to have met the challenges of sanitation in two extremely difficult situations, in recent years. The first was the tragic tsunami in December 2004. The next was the rehabilitation and resettlement of nearly 300,000 people, after the successful defeat of terrorism in 2009.

Both these situations presented very difficult and complex issues which were tackled by a combination of commitment, innovation and a humanitarian approach to the problem.

In fact, due to our readiness to address the problems of sanitation, Sri Lanka was able to disprove the many predictions made about the possibility of outbreak of diseases and epidemics in both these crisis situations.

Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, we note with gratitude the assistance extended to us by our regional neighbours, and friends in other parts of the world, to meet these challenges.

In the development of sanitation as a key aspect of social and economic progress, we have also received much help from development banks, multi- and bilateral aid agencies, non-government organisations with a good agenda of service, and many other international and local agencies.

We are now becoming more aware of the importance of water for the progress of humankind. As much as it is needed to sustain life, water is also essential for good sanitation which brings dignity to life. Sri Lanka, therefore, through our policy framework of the ‘Mahinda Chinthana,’ works on policies to safeguard and use the water resources given to us by nature.

We are aware of the importance of water in the development of human capital. We understand the need to be socially inclusive for the saving and proper harnessing of water, and for the use of appropriate technology and mechanisms for its storage, distribution and proper use.

In this, Sri Lanka is strengthened by its great history, culture and religious traditions that have played an important role in the storage and harnessing of water. Our ancient cities are living examples of the engineering skills of our forefathers, who built great tanks and reservoirs and also developed drainage systems that impress the engineers of today.

Our traditions of working in harmony with nature did not encourage the pollution of water. These are traditions we want to follow to preserve and develop, for the needs of today, and the future.

Our policy in sanitation has also focussed on the rural needs. Over the last five years, our Government has been successful in improving a range of rural infrastructure. Water resources, their preservation, providing safe drinking water to the rural population have all been part of our rural development strategies.

I am happy to note that migration to urban areas from rural environments has been on the decline. We have been able to provide facilities including those for sanitation in rural areas making the quality of life of our people better.

I strongly believe that economic growth alone is not beneficial to the people. It must produce wide spread benefits to the people while improving basic needs of the society. Access to – water, sanitation, shelter, electricity, health and education – is key, to open the doors for a society to enjoy quality basic needs.

‘Mahinda Chinthana – Vision for the Future,’ our Government’s development framework, is based on this fundamental philosophy in economic development. Rural- centric emphasis is essentially to liberate rural people from incidence of poverty and ensure that all have access to basic needs.

I strongly believe that a meaningful development cannot exclusively target growth alone. Economic development must be democratic enough to ensure that every citizen has access to gainful opportunities.

The colossal sums of monies that nations spend on conflicts and wars must be diverted towards development, research and technology to reduce poverty and suffering. Sri Lanka’s humanitarian initiatives have enabled the Government, not just to end conflicts but to divert resources earlier spent on conflicts, now towards welfare and development.

Public expenditure on rural centric initiatives and on farmers, on children and similar expenditures on the provision of water, sanitation and clean environment are more productive and beneficial to the welfare of the citizens. Therefore, at a ministerial conference such as this, our determination should be to appeal to the world to divert their defence expenditure on development.

I am in a position to participate in that process as our Government not only has ended a painful, costly war against terrorism, but also reduced our defence expenditure well in excess of five per cent of GDP before 2005 to around three per cent in 2010. This is a level that is required to provide national security and to sustain peace in the country.

This Ministerial Conference has much significance and therefore, it is necessary for me to extend my special appreciation to UNICEF for the support extended to make this event a reality. Regional cooperation and collaboration are both essential in our efforts to reach the best standards of water conservation and sanitation.

The countries of South Asia have, in their own ways, developed traditions that give the highest importance to the conservation and best use of water. I trust your discussions at this conference will share this experience, both from the past and present, for the advancement of sanitation, improvement of hygiene and health, and see how the lessons learnt can be taken to the future.

I wish this Ministerial Summit every success in its deliberations which would be fruitful for the people of our region and those outside.

I also wish our visitors a pleasant stay in Sri Lanka, to take back memories of a friendly people and a beautiful country.

May the noble Triple Gem Bless You.