Swiss Year of Sanitation Campaign

Today, 2.5 billion people – approximately 40% of the world’s population - still lack access to basic sanitation facilities. To put the spotlight on this crucial issue the UN General Assembly declared the year 2008 the International Year of Sanitation. The goal is to raise awareness and to accelerate progress towards the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target to reduce by half the proportion of people without access to basic sanitation by 2015.

Switzerland is participating in this initiative by raising awareness with a national campaign designed to outline the challenges of sanitation and to trigger practical improvements. This effort involves public- and private-sector partners, namely the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), the Federal Offices for the Environment (FOEN) and of Public Health (FOPH), the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (EAWAG), as well as the Swiss Water Pollution Control Association (VSA) and the “Groupement romand des exploitants de stations d'épuration” (GRESE).

Skat assists SDC in planning, coordinating and implementing the national campaign. Awareness raising materials have been developed such as a flyer and a website. Two itinerant exhibitions are currently touring Switzerland. Moreover, a number of actions have been successfully carried out such as the “sanitation weekend” on May 24/25 during which around 40 wastewater treatment plants across the country opened their doors to an enthusiastic public. More information on the campaign, on past and future events as well as documentation materials can be found on the following website http://www.sanitation2008.ch (in German, French and Italian).