International Year of Sanitation 2008 in Nepal

54% of the population practice open-air defecation due to lack of sanitation facilities (toilet).
46% of the population has access to latrines against basic water supply coverage of 76%. The gap thus between sanitation and water supply facilities is over 30%.
VDCs of one third of the 75 districts have basic sanitation coverage less than 20%
Nepal continues to bear the loss of some 10 billion rupees each year in terms of health expenses, loss of productivity and adverse effects in tourism due to poor hygiene and environmental sanitation
Annually some 13,000 children under five die of diarrheal disease due to poor hygiene and sanitation
Only about 41% of public and community schools have toilet facilities.
The coverage among the rich people is 80% whereas it is just 12% among the poor.
Only 12% of the population has sewerage facilities.
Nepal has to ensure 53% toilet coverage by 2015 to achieve sanitation MDG.
Nepal's National Goal is to provide basic sanitation facilities to all by 2017.
Present trend of toilet construction is 1,48,000 annually (405 per day).
It requires almost a double increment of the present trend of latrine construction from 148,000 to 320,000 per year (879 per day) to achieve NG.
4 VDCs (Pragati Nagar- Nawalparasi, Ghachowk- Kaski, Bandipur- Tanahau and Phoolbari- Chitwan) and dozens of school catchments and communities have been declared as Open Defecation Free Zones.
It is estimated that till the end of Tenth Plan 46% of the population had access to basic sanitation facilities, which was 6% in 1990.
Approximately 80% of the communicable diseases in Nepal are due to contaminated water and poor sanitation. There is a great problem of solid waste management and sewerage system in the urban areas due to increasing population.
There is lack of initiation to build toilets for disabled people.
The practices of rampant open-air defecation particularly in the Tarai has badly contaminated the water bodies and put public health at stake
Women have to wait till darkness or have to go a long way for defecation in search of secret places; which has increased the posibilities of being raped, physically tortured and attacked by wild animals.
Children and women among the poor and disadvantaged communities are greatly afflicted by poor sanitation, which has given a great setback to their dignity, identity and pride.
Proper hand washing with soap reduces 35% of diarrheal disease.