Sri Lanka has been selected as the host country of the next SACOSAN Conference in Colombo in April. The Colombo Conference will review progress made on the decisions taken at the last Delhi Conference and steps to be taken to address and enhance sanitation facilities which will be incorporated in the Colombo Declaration which will be approved by the Ministers of the participating countries on April 7.
Lack of access to safe sanitation facilities and services has become a major cause of diseases world wide. In many South Asian countries, this problem is affecting the population intensely and it is estimated that daily 6,000 children die in South Asia due to sanitation related diseases. The first South Asian Conference was held in Bangladesh in 2003, which was followed by Conferences in Pakistan and India and the 4th Conference is scheduled to be held in Colombo from April 4 to 8..
The Conference will be held under the patronage of the Ministries of Water Supply and Drainage, Ministry of Health, Local Government and Provincial Councils, Finance and Planning, Mass Media and Information, Environment, and several other International Organisations related to Health, and Water Management.