Sprinting the last mile in Nepal

In September 2019, the Government of Nepal declared the country ‘open defecation free’ (ODF). Leading up to this milestone, the Government of Nepal and other sector partners focused on  the challenging Terai plains – the ‘last mile’ of Nepal’s Sanitation Campaign.

Sprinting the Last Mile: Nepal’s Sanitation Campaign in the Terai documents the key success factors from the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council’s Global Sanitation Fund programme in Nepal, executed by UN-HABITAT, concentrating on the Terai region. By building local campaign coordination bodies, leveraging local finance, and igniting broad-based movements for improving sanitation and hygiene, sanitation coverage in the Terai accelerated from around 13% to near universal coverage in just over four years, according to data from the Government of Nepal. These insights and lessons are relevant for other behaviour change-based sanitation and hygiene campaigns across Asia and beyond.

Also available in French!

New WSSCC resource! EQND Handbook for CLTS Facilitators

The Equality and Non-discrimination (EQND) and Community-led Total Sanitation (CLTS) Handbook provides practical guidance for ensuring that behaviour change interventions leave no one behind.

Drawing on experience from across the sector, this handbook is specifically targeted towards those implementing or supervising CLTS interventions at the community level. Key features include:

• A summary of EQND principles
• Step-by-step guidance on applying these principles during pre-triggering, triggering meetings, and post-triggering follow-up visits
• Annexes with practical tools, templates, and resources.

Two other documents of excellent reference include the Human Rights Principles and Terminology – Equality and Non-Discrimination: Supporting the Human Rights to Water and Sanitation (WSSCC, SNV and UTS) and Guidance and Tips for learning from people who may be most disadvantaged during the programme process (WSSCC) both collated by Sarah House.

As well, check out new resources published by the CLTS Knowledge Hub:

• Nine ideas for Gender Transformative WASH programming.
• Frontiers 10: Equality and non-discrimination (EQND) in sanitation programmes at scale (Part 1 of 2)
• Frontiers 13: Support mechanisms to strengthen equality and non-discrimination (EQND) in rural sanitation (Part 2 of 2).   

WSSCC Webinar: Handwashing and sanitation behaviour change in WASH interventions, 24 October

Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC) would like to invite you to register to the online learning event: Handwashing and sanitation behaviour change in WASH interventions.

A webinar for WASH practitioners.

Learn about the most effective interventions to promote handwashing and sanitation.

Presented by Emmy De Buck, Manager and Lead Researcher, Centre for Evidence-Based Practice, (CEBaP), Belgian Red Cross-Flanders.

Moderated by Chaitali Chattopadhyay, Senior Programme Officer, Monitoring
and Evaluation, WSSCC

To register click here.

Read ahead:

• Policy Brief
• Fact Sheet
• Summary
• Report

Attention is increasingly focusing on programme design and approaches that promote water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) behaviour change in efforts to achieve UN Sanitation Goal 6. Several approaches have been developed over the last 2 decades that promote uptake of WASH interventions and sustain WASH behaviour change. While the evidence base for interventions in low and medium-income countries is extensive, there is a gap in behaviour change approaches in WASH interventions.

The International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie), in partnership with the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC), funded a systematic review to help fill in this evidence gap. It looked at which promotional approaches might change handwashing and sanitation behaviour, and which implementation factors affect the success or failure of such promotional approaches. It synthesises evidence from 42 quantitative studies on the effectiveness of behaviour change approaches and 28 qualitative studies on the implementation of such programme.

Join the webinar on 24th October 2017 for the launch of this recent systematic review “Approaches to promote handwashing and sanitation behaviour change in low- and middle-income countries.”

WSSCC Releases New Global Sanitation Fund Equality and Non-Discrimination Study

How can WASH programmes leave no one behind, as called for in the Sustaionable Development Goals? WSSCC’s new study, Scoping and Diagnosis of the Global Sanitation Fund’s Approach to Equality and Non-Discrimination, helps answer this question.

The study reveals that many people who may be considered disadvantaged have benefited positively from WSSCC’s Global Sanitation Fund (GSF)-supported programmes, particularly in open defecation free verified areas. In addition, a range of positive outcomes and impacts related to empowerment, safety, convenience, ease of use, self-esteem, health, dignity, an improved environment and income generation were reported by people who may be considered disadvantaged.

Photo Credit: WSSCC

However, the study finds that GSF has not yet systematically integrated EQND throughout the programme cycle. Across all countries, there are people who have either fallen through the net or whose lives have become more difficult after being unduly pressured, or after taking out loans and selling assets to build toilets. More proactive attention is needed throughout the programme cycle to build on current successes and ensure that people are not left behind or harmed through the actions or omissions of supported programmes.

GSF is in the process of putting the study’s recommendations into practice through revised guidelines, minimum standards, practical tools and other mechanisms.

Download the full study, plus a summarized version with GSF reflections, and annexes

Global Sanitation Fund reports improvements in sanitation and hygiene for millions of people

People-centred, nationally-led programmes empower millions to end open defecation, improve sanitation, and increase dignity and safety

Geneva, 28 June 2017 – A new report shows that WSSCC’s Global Sanitation Fund (GSF) has supported governments and thousands of partners across 13 countries, stretching from Cambodia to Senegal, to enable over 15 million people to end open defecation.

 

As the funding arm of the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC), GSF-supported programmes are contributing to the Council’s vision of universal access to sustainable and equitable sanitation and hygiene across countries throughout south Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. Focused on Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target 6.2, GSF focuses on improving sanitation and hygiene in the poorest and most marginalized communities, thereby contributing to associated development goals for education, health, women’s empowerment, climate change and urban development.

The 2016 GSF Progress Report highlights activities and results achieved from the inception of the Fund to the end of the year. Cumulative results to 31 December 2016 include:

• 15.2 million people have been empowered to live in ODF environments, just over the target of 15 million.
• 12.8 million people have gained access to improved toilets, 16% more than the target of 11 million.
• 20 million people have gained access to handwashing facilities, 81% more than the target of 11 million.

Read more or download the report in English or French

Freddy the Fly – an animated video about a community’s journey to ODF status

Meet Freddy, a fly who loves toilet fondue! Find out what happens to him when the village he lives in is triggered into cleaning up their act to become open defecation free (ODF). Please share this video widely and use Freddy to illustrate how behaviour change methods, including Community-Led Total Sanitation, work to help communities become healthier and more productive. And join the ODF movement at wsscc.org!

WSSCC’s first 2017 Webinar session : Inadequate Sanitation and Stress

WSSCC’s first 2017 Webinar session : Inadequate Sanitation and Stress. WSSCC, April 4, 2017.

The hour-long discussion centred around a presentation on the sanitation-related stress experienced by women in the state of Odisha in India.

Globally, about 2.4 billion people have inadequate access to sanitation facilities and one billion people practice open defecation. In India, about 300 million women and girls have no choice but to defecate in the open. 

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), the biomedical impacts of poor sanitation access have received considerable attention. However, there remains limited understanding of the psychological and social impacts of inadequate sanitation for women and girls.

In March, WSSCC kicked off its 2017 webinar series, with a session dedicated to exploring the psycho social stress related to poor sanitation that adversely affect the lives of women and girls. The discussion was based on a WSSCC study,  Sanitation-related psychosocial stressors during routine sanitation practices among women, which looks into  the practices of adolescent, newly married, pregnant and adult women in urban and rural settings, and in indigenous communities, in the state of Odisha in India.

Dr. Kathleen O’Reilly, Associate Professor at Texas A&M University presented the findings with the study’s researcher Dr. Krushna Chandra Sahoo from the Asian Institute of Public Health. The session was moderated by Archana Patkar, Head of Policy at WSSCC.

Read the complete article.

 

Local governance and sanitation: Eight lessons from Uganda

The magnitude of the sanitation crisis means that sanitation and hygiene solutions must be delivered sustainably, and on a large scale. This requires the close involvement of government at all levels. A new case study outlines eight lessons from the Global Sanitation Fund-supported Uganda Sanitation Fund in coordinating, planning, and implementing Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) at scale through a decentralized government system.

Download the case study or read the feature article on wsscc.org.

Local government health workers and latrine owners proudly display an improved latrine in Lira district, Uganda.©WSSCC/USF

 

 

Linking WASH to other development sectors – Thematic discussion: 24th October – 12th November 2016

The Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC) Community of Practice on Sanitation and Hygiene in Developing Countries and the Centre of Excellence in Water and Sanitation at Mzuzu University (Malawi) are holding a joint 3-week thematic discussion on linking water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) to other development sectors. The LinkedIn hosted CoP has over 6,200 members each working in WASH and other related sectors; this thematic discussion will be an opportunity to bring together sector practitioners and researchers to share knowledge, learn from each other, identify best practice and explore how WASH and other development sectors can collaborate in this SDG era.

The thematic discussion will take place on the CoP; with a coordinator moderating the discussions. The discussion will be split into three inter-linked sub-themes and conversation leaders will frame and prompt debates each week on:

• 24 – 30 October – Theme 1: WASH and Nutrition – At a grassroots level, WASH and nutrition are not often combined, what are some examples of successful merging of these themes? What about the health impact and the perceptions and views of communities? If you had one area of WASH and nutrition which makes the biggest impact to focus on, what would it be?

• 31 October – 6 November – Theme 2: WASH and Disability – What are the barriers to accessing WASH people with disabilities in developing countries? Is standard CLTS inclusive?  How can schools in developing countries be more accessible?  What are some examples of successful merging of these two themes?

• 7 – 12 November – Theme 3: Climate Change and WASH –What are some of the local strategies in place to strengthen climate change resiliency and WASH objectives? If an ODF community build a pit latrine by cutting down old growth trees, have we made a positive or negative impact at a community level? Are there more innovative ways looking at not only the environment and human dimensions of these problems? What are some examples of successful merging of these two themes by field practitioners?

Join us for the discussion with some of the following thematic experts:

• Megan Wilson-Jones, Policy Analyst: Health & Hygiene, WaterAid for WASH and Nutrition discussion
• Adam Biran and Sian White, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
• Mavuto Tembo, Mzuzu University, Malawi

Weekly summaries of discussions will be posted on CoP as well as a synthesis report of overarching findings at the end.

To participate in the discussion, please join here:

WSSCC Community of Practice: www.linkedin.com/grp/home?gid=1238187

We look forward to some constructive and in-depth discussions!

WSSCC increases support to Swachh Bharat Mission

The Water Supply & Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC) has announced that it will amplify its support to the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM), the Government of India’s (GOI) programme to achieve a Clean India by 2019, by establishing an in country India Support Unit and bolstering its work linked to the Global Sanitation Fund (GSF).

The government has welcomed these moves, which enhance WSSCC’s normative and implementation work to improve access and use, equality, knowledge and collaboration in sanitation and hygiene. WSSCC has appointed Mr. Vinod Mishra, previously the organization’s volunteer National Coordinator, to the position of National Officer in a new India Support Unit (ISU). Mr. Mishra will lead a WSSCC team of three professionals, including Ms. Kamini Prakash, an Equality and Non Discrimination Officer, and Ms. Sanchita Ghosh, a Knowledge and Learning Officer, based in Delhi. The unit will coordinate WSSCC support to SBM on policy and monitoring guidelines, capacity building and rapid action learning.

Credit: Anil Teegala

In addition, WSSCC’s work through the Global Sanitation Fund-supported programme managed by NRMC India Private Ltd. will include four additional elements: extension of field operations in the States of Jharkhand, Bihar and Assam; support to the Namami Ganga Mission (NGM) within SBM; support to Bihar State on a “District Approach” to collective behaviour change; and facilitation of peer exchanges with neighbouring States in Northern India. Collectively, these additions respond to the Government’s aims to expand and share through successful sanitation programming.

These additional elements build on an already successful GSF programme which, since 2010, has been instrumental working in those three States with high open defecation rates, to establish the modalities for implementing collective behaviour change at scale, an essential pathway to the practical realization of SBM. To date, WSSCC has facilitated open defecation free status for Gram Panchayats in Jharkhand and Bihar. As of July 2015, the GSF programme has empowered 551,000 people to live in open defecation free villages, and 1.4 million people to gain access to improved sanitation in India. “The Swachh Bharat Mission is a call to action for finally ending the practice of open defecation and ensuring equal access to sanitation and hygiene,” says Dr. Chris W. Williams, Executive Director of WSSCC. “We aim to answer that call and work together to solve the serious and deep rooted sanitation challenges for the well-being, prosperity and very survival of India’s 1.2 billion citizens.”

Since 1990, WSSCC has worked closely through its individual members, National Coordinators and partners to support improved access to sanitation and hygiene. In the past five years alone, the Council held the first Global Forum on Sanitation and Hygiene in Mumbai, facilitated innovative sanitation programming through the GSF, and worked with the Government of India and States to transform sanitation policy and practice to include safe menstrual hygiene management with dignity, responding to the demands of hundreds of millions of women whose monthly periods were hitherto linked to pollution and impurity and therefore shame and indignity.

More recently, along with other partners, WSSCC contributed to the design of the SBM to include equity, innovation, rapid action and learning, and sustainability aspects before it was launched in October 2014. In 2015, GOI called upon WSSCC to organize the first ever national workshop to define the verification of open defecation free (ODF) status in India, followed by the first national sharing of innovations, best practices and failures in sanitation and hygiene. On equity, the Indian example and experience has been leveraged systematically to forge partnerships, innovations and guidelines wider in South Asia and in Africa. Inclusive WASH has also been clearly articulated in regional declarations and hygiene and sanitation proposals for the Sustainable Development Goals. “In a country where pervasive caste and gender inequalities threaten life itself, over 300 million women and girls in India try to squat in a sari, while holding a cup of water to cleanse themselves and keeping an eye out for molesters. Imagine how much more complex and impossible this becomes every month during a woman’s menstrual period!” says Ms. Archana Patkar, Programme Manager, WSSCC. “It is time for the entire development community to unite behind this cause.”

Mr. Mishra added: “The deleterious impacts of poor sanitation and hygiene on health, productivity and well-being extend well beyond India, which is responsible for 60% of the world’s total open defecation, and is nothing short of a global emergency. WSSCC’s amplified engagement will therefore lead to successes and solutions which will not only tackle the emergency here, but help elsewhere.”

Find out more about WSSCC‘s work in India and in other countries: www.wsscc.org