The WASH Development Partner Group recognized outgoing Secretary at Ministry of Urban Development Kishor Thapa and joint secretary Abadh Kishor Mishra are recognized as two main contributors in the sector.  The group organized appreciation program on July 23 at Finland Embassy premises to acknowledge their remarkable contributions.

Both of them played crucial role to host the Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Joint Sector Review II conference on 31 March and 1 April 2014. Organized by the Ministry, itwas a major successfulstep towards achieving the target of achieving full coverage of water supply and sanitation by2017 as per target set by the Government of Nepal.

It identified gaps and unsolved issues in the sector and provided a way forward by bringing together all the stakeholders to focus on eight major thematic areas, namely: institutional framework and capacity building, sector financing, monitoring and evaluation, functionality and sustainability, sanitation and hygiene, water quality, gender equity and social inclusion and disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation.

According to a press release issued by Embassy of Finland, governmentOfficials from Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Federal Affairs and Local Development, Department of Local Infrastructure Development and Agricultural Roads, Department of Water Supply and Sewerage, Sector Efficiency Improvement Unit and Development partners including Finland Embassy, World Bank, Asian Development Bank, DFID and UNICEF were invited in the program.