UN is just about to formally declare 2008 as International Year of Sanitation which is only 62 days (equivalent to 1,488 hours / 89.280 minutes / 5,356,800 seconds) away from now at the opening of World Toilet Summit – 2007 at New Delhi on 31st October 2007.

Under the Millennium Development Goal – 7 Target 10 by year 2015 we are supposed to halve the problem of sustainable access to basic sanitation in the world.

It is estimated that 2.6 Billion people worldwide including 980 Million children still remain without adequate and safe sanitation facilities.

As part of MDG one of the primary objectives is to dramatically increase both the number of people with access to proper Sanitation and the number who practice good hygiene by halving the problem by year 2015. It is a Herculean Task requiring collective efforts at multiple levels concurrently between now and the target year of MDG.

Time is Ticking Fast and in order to keep all of us reminding about our responsibilities towards the future generations. The Millennium Development Clock is being given to you on the occasion of World Toilet Summit – 2007 and to marks the launching of 2008 as International Year of Sanitation by the UN.

Between the 1st January 2008 and 31st December 2015, we have just 8 years of 2920 days (equivalent to 70,080 hours / 4,204,800 minutes /252,288,000 seconds) available to us to fulfill the desired target.

With best wishes and Season’s Greetings

Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak
Founder, Sulabh Sanitation and Social Reform Movement
New Delhi, INDIA
31st October, 2007