MYANMAR is making greater progress in providing clean water supplies and improving sanitation and hygiene, the country representative of the United Nations Children’s Fund, Ms Caroll Long, told a workshop in Yangon on October 7.

Speaking at the opening of the two-day workshop at the Dusit Inya Lake Resort hotel, Ms Long said the achievements in the three areas were a tribute to those involved.

“At the heart of all of our work to provide Myanmar’s families with clean water and a hygienic environment is our desire to save children’s lives and enhance people’s health,” she said.

The workshop was jointly organised by UNICEF and the Health Ministry’s Department of Health Planning. It was attended by about 40 representatives from the ministries of Health and the Progress of Border Areas and National Races and Development Affairs, UN agencies and national and international non-government organisations.

Ms Long said the workshop would be useful for developing strategies on water, environmental sanitation and hygiene and to prepare for a new program on those issues in cooperation with the government for implementation from 2006 to 2010.

She said more than half of the population relied on wells, ponds, springs and rivers for their drinking water.

“We must find the means to make sure that these sources are truly free of harmful pathogens which are bacteria or virus that cause diseases,” said Ms Long.

Attention also needed to be paid to ensuring latrines were safe. “Emphasis is needed on how to persuade people to upgrade unsanitary latrines to fly-proof status and to protect them from being destroyed during floods and other adverse conditions,” said Ms Long.

She also highlighted the need for effective partnerships to promote hygienic practices.

The Deputy Minister of Health, Dr Mya Oo, said a project launched by the Health Planning Department in 2000 aimed to reduce by half the percentage of people with access to safe drinking water and sanitation facilities by 2015. The project had a target of providing universal access to safe water and sanitation facilities by 2025, Dr Mya Oo said.

The project, known as the ‘four cleans’ (for clean toilets, clean water, clean hands and clean food), is managed by Dr Khin Maung Lwin, who said coordination among government departments and NGOs was vital for it to achieve its goals.