Sanitation is very essential for healthy and dignified life. Despite this fact, 24 districts in Nepal have sanitation coverage of below 20 percent and 56 percent country population still do not have latrines. This has been causing outbreak of diarrrhoeal disease leading to untimely death of 13,000 children every year.
The United Nations declared Millennium Development Goal to halve the population deprived from water and sanitation facility by 2015 and announced to celebrate the International Year of Sanitation 2008 with the view to improve sanitation facilities. Likewise, the government of Nepal has also targeted to meet 100 percent sanitation coverage by 2017.
Public awareness on health and hygiene is very important to achieve these targets and media mobilization can be effective and efficient for this purpose.
Guthi along with UN HABITAT Water for Asian Cities (WAC) Programme Nepal, Year of International Year of Sanitation - Nepal Desk, National Sanitation Steering Committee jointly organized a press photo competition entitled “Sanitation for Healthy Life” on March 7-9, 2008 in Kathmandu.
Fifty nine photographs evoking the problems of sanitation and practices of proper sanitation has been exhibited during. From sewer drained straight into the holy rivers to garbage being piled up around the temples, the pictures there were indeed the testimony of sanitation problems faced by the country and its citizens.
The winner of the competition programme was declared during a closing ceremony on March 9, 2008. The competing photographers were judged for four categories of award by a judge panel including Anil Chitrakar, Mani Lama and Lajana Manandhar. Mr. Rajesh Dhungana, Senior Photojournalists of Gorkhapatra was declared first among the 59 participants. Mr. Devendra Man Shrestha and Mr. Ramesh Shakya were selected for the second and the third prize respectively. The special award went to Mr. Bishnu Shrestha of Nepal Samacharpatra.  Based on the maximum votes from the viewers Mr. Narendra Shrestha of Katipur Daily was selected for the Viewers' choice award.
The first prize carried a cash prize of Rs. 20, 000 while the second and the third carried Rs. 10, 000 and Rs. 5, 000 respectively. The special prize carried Rs. 2,000 while the viewers' choice award which carried a cash prize of Rs. 5,000.