PR'S REMARKS AT THE SIDE-EVENT CO-SPONSORED BY SINGAPORE AND SENEGAL AT THE 59TH SESSION OF THE COMMISSION ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN "UNLOCKING MULTIPLE BENEFITS FOR WOMEN AND GIRLS THROUGH SANITATION AND HYGIENE IN THE POST-2015 ERA", 13 MARCH 2015

His Excellency Mr Mansour Faye, Minister for Water and Sanitation of Senegal,

Excellencies,

Distinguished guests,

I warmly welcome you to our side event today to discuss how we could unlock multiple benefits for women and girls through sanitation and hygiene in the Post-2015 era.  Singapore is privileged to co-host this event with Senegal, with the support of UN Women and Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC), and we are very honoured that Minister Mansour Faye is able to join us for this event.

          Singapore is proud to support the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) agenda.  In 2013, Singapore spearheaded an initiative for the UN to recognise 19 November as World Toilet Day, in a bid to make sanitation for all a global development priority.  What we hoped to do was to break the taboo surrounding sanitation in some small way and in so doing, facilitate serious discussion and action on this issue.  Last year, Singapore organized a panel discussion on World Toilet Day with the theme “Open Defecation and the Challenges for Women and Girls” precisely to focus on the gender perspective of open defecation.

Today’s discussion is an important one.  Of all the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), we fall far short of meeting the goal on basic sanitation, with over 2 billion people still without access to sanitation and 1 billion people practicing open defecation. 

The situation is even more challenging for women and girls who are particularly disadvantaged because of inadequate WASH facilities.  The research studies conducted by UN Women, WSSCC and the Sanitation and Hygiene Applied Research for Equity (SHARE) Research Consortium which they will share today shed important light on this.  Women and girls face considerable psychosocial stress, barriers to education, vulnerability to sexual violence, vulnerability to diseases and have to limit their social, economic and cultural activities because of inadequate WASH facilities.  UN Women and WSSCC’s studies also provide critical information on menstrual hygiene management.

                   The issues that we discuss here today often cause people to feel embarrassed or awkward.  For example, people do not like to discuss open defecation or the menstrual needs of girls.  Unfortunately, it is this very culture of silence that has led many women and girls to suffer in the dark.    Women and girls should not feel ashamed of these very natural needs they have, needs that our governments should do our utmost to meet.

                   The studies presented today reaffirm that there remains much work to be done globally in providing WASH facilities to women and girls. We are thus heartened by the inclusion of Goal 6 of the Report of the Sustainable Development Goals “Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all”.  In particular, Target 6.2 on achieving access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all and ending open defecation, includes an important phrase “paying special attention to the needs of women and girls and those in vulnerable situations”.  We believe that this should be safeguarded in the ongoing discussions on the post-2015 development agenda and ultimately implemented by all member states in partnership with stakeholders such as the UN system and civil society organisations, including NGOs and the private sector.  

                   I now invite Dr Rokhaya Cissé, Sociologist at the University of Dakar, Senegal, and the UN Women and WSSCC Joint Programme Team, to take us through a comparative overview of the evidence, policy and practice on menstrual hygiene in West Africa and South Asia based on their research findings.

[Presentation of research findings]

                   Let us now watch a short video produced by the WSSCC on their work.

[Screening of video]

                   Today, our panel will be moderated by Ms Archana Patka, Programme Manager at WSSCC.  Archana is a development specialist and sanitation, hygiene and water supply expert.  She spearheaded WSSCC’s redevelopment as a sector leader in topics such as equity and inclusion in sanitation and hygiene, menstrual hygiene management, and sanitation as a business.  She will steer our discussions with a very distinguished panel. I look forward to a vibrant and thought-provoking discussion and to continuing to work with you all to advance the WASH agenda, especially for women and girls!

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