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You're watching UNICEF Television.

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The first preparatory meeting of the 2008 International Year of Sanitation was held

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at UNICEF headquarters in New York.

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Led by His Royal Highness Willem-Alexander the Prince of Orange, panelists sought to

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find new ways to focus attention on the global sanitation crisis and address the importance

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of meeting Millennium Development Goal 7, the reduction of the number of people without

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access to adequate sanitation facilities to 25% by 2015.

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We shouldn't forget that in 2000 when the NDGs were formulated first, people were looking

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at them as what is this?

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And now we're only looking at how we can adjust our activities to actually achieve those NDGs.

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So a lot has already happened in the past seven years and people actually start believing

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that achieving NDGs is a possibility.

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2.6 billion people, some 41% of the global population, have no access to proper sanitation

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facilities.

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Of them, 980 million are children.

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The lack of access to proper sanitation and clean sources of water has been linked to

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a wide range of diseases such as diarrhea, which often leads to or accelerates malnutrition,

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and pneumonia.

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During the meeting, a list of objectives for the International Year of Sanitation was drafted

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and presented to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

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These objectives will be finalized and then presented to governments and partners around

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the world as a basis for which to measure the success of the 2008 International Year

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of Sanitation.

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Let us make this a remarkable year of global sanitation achievement, one that generates

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real positive changes for the millions and even billions of people who do not yet enjoy

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this basic ingredient of human welfare.

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I thank you for your participation and contribution and I look forward to your continued collaboration.

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Thank you very much.

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Access to better hygiene opens the possibilities to a better way of life for children everywhere.

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It means improved economic growth, sustained progress in education, and a solid foundation

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for public health.

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This is Anouilh Koukafa reporting for UNICEF Television.

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Unite for Children.