785 million people
across the globe still do not have access to safe drinking water. Even worse,
two billion people lack access to basic sanitation, and
673 million people still practice open
defecation. Living without these essential services negatively affects
health, education, dignity, and means of living.
The seventh South
Asian Conference on Sanitation (SACOSAN-VII 2018) Declaration has acknowledged
that rapid urbanization and growing inequalities in access to WASH especially
around geographical areas, vulnerable groups and income levels, present challenges in sanitation and hygiene service
provision in South Asia. It also recognized the progress made towards
reducing open defecation in the region and growing attention given towards
building sustainable and safely managed sanitation systems, calling for a renewed
commitment of the countries to align their national and sub-national
policies/strategies with safely managed sanitation services and hygiene as
outlined in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Despite the progress, 558
million people in the region
still practice open defecation and about 177,000 children die of diarrhea each year.
This crisis in water
and sanitation has predominately been a concern for
the poor, excluded, women, children, elderly and disabled.
What are the most critical
areas that require urgent attention
Water Supply
While it is
encouraging that water supply coverage in Nepal has risen from 46% in 1990 to
88% in 2018, only 25% of the available systems are estimated to be fully functional. Over 40%
of the country’s population still needs to be served to
meet the SDG target of providing piped water supply
to 90% of the households by 2030. Furthermore, the national target of
basic water supply coverage of 99% by 2030 cannot be met unless the
non-functional schemes are repaired and rehabilitated. (How is basic water
supply defined and what about the definition of safe water supply?
Sanitation
Sanitation coverage
has grown significantly from 6% in 1990 to the current level of over 99%. On 30
September 2019, the Government of Nepal declared the country ‘open defecation
free’ (ODF) after self-declaration by all 753 local units from the 77 districts
and is rapidly scaling-up access to safely managed sanitation services as the
next priority.
However, the stories
of some locals and experts on the ground provide a much grimmer picture of
sanitation coverage than that is nationally reported. Despite the government’s
claim, many districts, mainly in the Tarai region, are still struggling to live
up to the ODF status. Even major cities like Kathmandu have failed to control
open defecation. Many people continue to defecate in the open, either because
they have not built toilets in their homes due to financial issues,
landlessness, or underlying social/cultural issues.
One of the reasons why the government continues to struggle for sustainable sanitation services and
hygiene has been the historic policy bias towards
water supply. Sanitation and hygiene generally received a lower priority compared to water
supply despite its central role in determining public health. Sanitation
programs started being implemented together with drinking water programs as
late as 1990. Only since the International Year of Sanitation in 2008 that the
government started allocating a separate budget for sanitation. The annual
budget for sanitation saw an increase of 12.4 fold from NPR 410 million in
2009/10 to NPR 5,100 million in 2018/19. However, there is still a funding gap of NPR 30,000 million (approx. US$ 280
million) to meet the current needs in the water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH)
sector. Hence, it is challenging for Nepal to meet the SDG target of providing
improved sanitation facilities to 95% households by 2030.
Hygiene
Due to a lack of awareness on the use of safe water, proper
use of sanitation facilities, and good hygiene practices, many people across
the country live in poor hygiene conditions. Although the simple act of
handwashing at critical times can reduce the number of diarrhea cases by 35%,
data from 2013 show that only 12% Nepalese people wash their hands with soap
before eating food, and over 50% of the population do not wash hands with soap
water after using the toilet.
Hygiene
promotion has often been overshadowed by technology-driven water and sanitation
interventions and in the health sector, there is often a greater focus on curative approaches rather than preventative
approaches.
An analysis on
failing mechanisms in WASH
The progress in the
WASH sector is not as expected because resources
are duplicated, approaches not uniform,
accountability mechanisms weak, and service
delivery capacity lacking. Although various government policies and strategies are in place, many fail to be implemented. The services provided often miss
vulnerable groups such as women, children, socially excluded, people
with disabilities, the elderly, those living with chronic illness, those living
in remote communities, and those under extreme poverty.
A lack of sufficient
knowledge has also made it difficult for people to
assert their rights effectively and raise voices for sustainable WASH
services with the government. Inter-sectoral
coordination between the WASH, health, and education is equally lagging.
Furthermore, the
recent political and administrative reforms, and changing donor policies,
priorities, and financing modalities have brought challenges to raise funds for
the WASH initiatives in the country. As the operating
space and funding available for WASH continue to shrink globally, there
will be fewer and fewer resources available in the future, reducing funds for
many international organizations and affecting the internal funding scenario as
well. For instance, DFID’s strategic shift towards governance, security,
health, and climate change and disaster, focusing on sector-wide approaches as
directed by its Operational Plan 2011-2016, significantly affected the
country’s WASH sector funding during the first half of the 2010s. With these
challenges, the question is whether Nepal will be able to meet the SDG targets
on water, sanitation, and hygiene by 2030.
Challenges in WASH in
South Asia – an overview
-
rapid
urbanization and growing inequality
-
sustainable
functionality of existing systems
-
service delivery capacity lacking, resources are
duplicated, approaches not uniform, accountability mechanisms weak
-
existing government policies and strategies fail to be
implemented
-
services provided often miss vulnerable groups
-
Inter-sectoral coordination between the WASH, health
and education lagging
-
government
gives Sanitation and Hygiene lower priority compared to Water Supply
-
hygiene promotion often overshadowed by
technology-driven water and sanitation interventions
-
greater focus on curative rather than preventative
approaches in the health sector
-
operating space and funding available for WASH
continue to shrink globally
Þ political and administrative reforms
Þ changing donor policies, priorities, and
financing modalities
-
lack of sufficient knowledge among people on
Þ crucial hygiene practices
Þ how to assert
their rights effectively and raise their voices