DHAKA: Abdul Malek, secretary of the local government, rural development and cooperatives ministry, on Saturday claimed that only 1-percent people in Bangladesh defecates in open spaces.

Mentioning this as an achievement of the incumbent government, he further said this was made due to the steps taken by the government to improve country’s sanitation system.

The secretary was addressing the inaugural ceremony of an international sanitation conference, ‘Journey to Zero’, in a city hotel on Saturday.

Department of Public Health Engineering (DPHE) organized the conference.

Abdul Malek also said that the rate of open defecation in 1990 was 34-percent.

“The success was achieved due to the concerted effort of government, noted citizens and countrymen,” he added.

UNICEF Bangladesh Representative Edouard Beigbeder, DPHE chief engineer Delwar Hossain and its additional engineer Waliullah also attended the ceremony.

Researchers Suzanne Hanchett and Shafiul Azam highlighted the roles played by social awareness campaigns and Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) programs in achieving the success about stopping open defecation in Bangladesh.

Organizers said local and international experts will present 22 research articles in eight technical sessions in the two-day program.

BDST: 1636 HRS, OCT 03, 2015
SR/RR/SMS