Resources / My experiences at the WSSCC Global Forum on Sanitation and Hygiene in Mumbai

Summary

Having benefitted from being a WSSCC member since 2009, I was incredibly fortunate to have participated in the Global Forum on Sanitation and Hygiene in October, with financial support from WSSCC.

Full text

Having benefitted from being a WSSCC member since 2009, I was incredibly fortunate to have participated in the Global Forum on Sanitation and Hygiene in October, with financial support from WSSCC. The inaugural event took place at the Renaissance Hotel and I was impressed with not only the superb choice of venue and the unflagging commitment of WSSCC staff, but also the impeccable organization of the event itself, and warmth in which participants were taken care of. 

In the presence of some 500 participants from across 70 countries, the Global Forum commenced with the lighting of a symbolic Sanitation lamp by key dignitaries including, Eng. Ebele Okeke, the WSSCC WASH Ambassador from Nigiera, and Jon Lane, WSSCC Executive Director on 9 October. After that was an inspirational video message from the recently-elected WSSCC Chair Anna Tibaijuka, who urged participants to “be part of the solution in one of the greatest development challenges of our time.”  To give the event a really cultural feel, musical presentations, as well as the “be the difference you want to see” advocacy video featuring Indian actor Shah Rukh Khan, a new Global WASH Ambassador, were shown – which really set the scene and tone of the days to come.

Through participation in the Leadership and Behaviour sessions, which I found to be extremely motivating, one of the key messages that I took away came from Mrs. Okeke, who spoke of the critical relationship between equality, human rights and sanitation. She urged participants to advocate for change from governments. This is vital in the movement towards a more equalitarian society. She reinforced the message that “water is life but sanitation is humanity.”  To achieve effective, sustainable and scaleable sanitation relies upon constructive collaboration, ongoing learning from mistakes and ultimately to think contribution and not retribution.

The debate on Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) also proved to be highly interactive, with presentations from Masud Hassan, Ada Oko–Williams and Dr. Kamal Kar on different areas of practice in West Africa. This session helped to reinforce the ever-growing importance of CLTS and how this approach can serve as a good entry point to wider community-level developmental projects in the community. Effective mobilization of the community in sanitation and hygiene for example can also lead to other positive benefits on areas including, water supply, food security, livelihoods as well as education.

To complement the wealth of rich learning and knowledge sharing opportunities at the Forum, we were invited to participate in a field visit to a slum area in Dharavi. This was an excellent eye-opener and highlighted just how innovative people can become, even if they’re from disadvantaged circumstances.  We witnessed inhabitants using local materials to recycle glasses, plastics to help produce various types of pottery and leather. On the other hand we also saw that often due to the level of poverty many places serves as homes and work areas, often creating difficult sanitation and hygiene practices. Though the government is focusing efforts towards addressing sanitation and hygiene challenges in area such as these, this was a stark reminder that there is much to be done.    

This was an invaluable learning experience for me as I have been able to use what I have learned and apply this to the Community Health Initiative in Nigeria. The resource materials and the opportunity to network with sector professionals from other countries was particularly enriching. I am proud to have been part of this. On a final note, I would like to congratulate WSSCC for organizing a memorable event!