Asia: leadership for sanitation needed at both central and local level

The responsibility for sanitation in Asia is fragmented over different agencies, and in most cases the priority given to sanitation is low. Therefore more leadership and political will is needed to make sure that organisational structures function, that plans with good intentions become a reality on the ground and that resources go to the right places. While leadership for sanitation is needed at all levels, it’s most urgent at sub national level, in districts and provinces, because it’s there where the actions take place.

This is the outcome of an email discussion [1] of the WASH Asia Dgroup platform held from 9 August to 9 September 2011. The discussion was moderated by the SNV Asia knowledge network and IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre, and involved 120 WASH practitioners from 5 different countries in Asia.

Asia: accelerated and sustainable progress in sanitation and hygiene is within our reach, hygiene experts say

Accelerated and sustainable progress in sanitation and hygiene is within reach in Asia, as long as we aim at district-wide coverage and build a broad alliance under leadership of local governments. This is the main conclusion of sanitation and hygiene experts from five countries (Nepal, Bhutan, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia) participating in a workshop for governance on water, sanitation and hygiene organized by the Nepal government together with SNV Netherlands Development Organisation and the IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre from 13 to 17 September 2011.

Regional sharing and learning from experiences is an important aspect of the Sustainable Sanitation and Hygiene for All programme being implemented in 17 districts across Nepal, Bhutan, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia, implemented by local government partners and assisted by SNV and IRC since 2008. Last year, this programme was intensified with co-funding from the AusAID Civil Society WASH Fund and recently with support from DFID in Vietnam. The aim is to contribute to giving two million rural people access to improved hygiene and sanitation facilities by the end of 2015.

Nepal, Mid-Western Region: sanitation card system introduced

Villagers in Salkot, western Surkhet, have to produce a “sanitation card” when applying for services from the Village Development Committee (VDC).

The “sanitation card” system was introduced in Salkot in mid April 2011 when it was declared an open defecation free zone.

The card contains information on whether the house of the card holder has a toilet and has pledged to no longer practice open defecation.

According to VDC Secretary Tilak Ram Adhikari red cards are issued to households which do not not concrete toilets and white cards to those which do have them.

The VDC office claimed that the out of total 1,553 households of the VDC, 1,117 households have been using toilets.

Source: The Rising Nepal, 18 Jul 2011

Nepal, Mid-Western Region: no scholarship without a toilet

Another example of how coercion is used in sanitation programmes comes from Radhapur village, Banke district in Nepal’s Mid-western Region. The Village Development Committee (VDC) of Radhapur prevents people without toilets “from getting recommendations for citizenship, land certificates and other services”. Schools also do not give scholarships to students from “dalit” (untouchable) families that don’t have a toilet in their house.

Scholarship are made available by the Water Supply and Total Sanitation Programme. So far one school says it has provided scholarships to 133 households.The Radhapur VDC, Nepal Water for Health (NEWAH) and other organisations provide loans for toilet construction.

Source: Rajdhani / NGO Forum, 30 Jun 30, 2011

India, Nepal: poor sanitation in jails

Prisoners in Orissa state, India and in Sunsari District, eastern Nepal, are being deprived of proper sanitation and safe drinking paper, according to local newspaper reports.

India, Orissa

At a meeting in April 2011 on jail administration, Orissa’s Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik asked officials about sanitation and drinking water arrangements in state prisons. Inspector General of Prisons Pranabindu Acharya said he was making arrangements for aqua guards (water purifiers) in some of the jails. In most of the jails toilet facilities were poor and insufficient for the inmates, officials admitted. With more than 12,000 inmates in 86 jails in the State, overcrowding was a problem in at least 18 jails. In many jails, “conditions are appalling”, especially in tehsil (county) level jails where not even rudimentary conveniences have been provided.

While the Directorate of Prisons has made arrangements to invest 13.7 million rupees (US$ 305,000) for water supply and sanitation in at least 24 jails, the Chief Minister asked for a greater allocation of funds.

Source: The Pioneer, 08 Apr 2011

Nepal, Sunsari

The 524 inmates and staff at the regional jail in Jhumka, Sunsari district, have been deprived of safe drinking water and well-managed toilets.

“The jail administration has made written requests to the jail department and Ministry of Home Affairs several times for managing safe drinking water and constructing well-managed toilets but to no avail,” said jailor Bhojraj Regmi.

Source: Naya Patrika / NGO Forum, 09 Jan 2011

Related news: Human rights: UN investigator tells of horrors and insanitary conditions of world prisons, E-Source, 12 Nov 2009

Nepal, Kathmandu: water board to curb rampant groundwater extraction

The Kathmandu Valley Water Supply Management Board (KVWSMB) is going to establish 30 monitoring centres throughout the Kathmandu Valley to curb rampant groundwater extraction. The centres, which are coming into operation by mid-May 2011, will monitor the quality and quantity of groundwater.

Both individuals and institutions that extract groundwater for commercial purposes will need to apply for a license from the KVWSMB after the monitoring centres are established. There are currently over 500 tubewells operating in the Kathmandu Valley. However, only 100 of them are registered at the board. Kathmandu Upatyaka Khanepani Limited (KUKL) already extracts a large amount of groundwater from 70 tube wells and supplying the water to its consumers. According to KUKL, the daily water demand in the Kathmandu Valley at present is 320 million litres but the supply is only around 70 million litres in the dry season and 120 million litres in the wet season.

Source: Nagarik / NGO Forum, 30 Mar 2011

Nepal: UNICEF and Finland sign Euro 9.8 million agreement for water and sanitation

UNICEF Nepal and Finland have signed an agreement on “Aligning for Action: Sanitation and Water for all in the Context of Climate Change in Nepal”. The agreement outlines the Finnish Government’s grant of Euro 9.8 million (US$ 14.3 million) over five years for UNICEF Nepal’s Water and Sanitation Programme.

The funds will help to:

• formulate and develop a national WASH sector programme
• develop the emergency preparedness and response capacity of the Nepali government, with contingency plans in all disaster prone districts
• support other existing government programmes in the education and health sectors to promote sanitation and hygiene

Read more about Finnish support for the water and sanitation sector on the website of the Embassy of Finland in Kathmandu.

Related web sites:

• Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project in Western Nepal (RWSSP-WN)
• UNICEF Nepal – WASH

Source: UNICEF, 15 Mar 2011

Nepal: Govt. to construct girl-friendly toilets in 5500 schools

The government is all set to construct girl-friendly toilets in 5500 community schools throughout the country to enroll more girl students in the schools. The government has allocated Rs. 1.1 billion [US$ 15 million] for the purpose. According to Department of Education, the drop out rate of girl students has increased due to lack of girl-friendly toilet in schools.

The school enrollment rate of girl students is 87 percent in primary level and 84 percent in secondary level. However, the drop out rate is 7 percent in primary level and 11 percent in secondary level (class 10).

“Various researches and studies have shown that dearth of girl friendly toilet in school premises is one of the reasons for girl students’ dropping out of schools. Therefore, the government has given priority to toilet construction in schools,” the Department of Education states.

“Menstruating girl students often remain absent due to lack of separate toilets for them,” said Gita Kharel, Principal, Ratna Rajya School Baneshwor, adding, “The government is doing a good job of constructing girl-friendly toilets this year.” “There is need of such toilets in the districts outside the Kathmandu Valley,” she added.

Deputy Director and chief of Gender Equity Section at Department of Education Ganesh Prasad Poudel told that the government is allocating Rs. 200,000 [US$ 2,730) to each community school for constructing a toilet. “In the absence of separate toilets for girls and boys, many girl students do not attend school regularly. Therefore, the government has given priority to construction of girl-friendly toilet,” said Poudel, adding, “We will construct necessary infrastructures so that girl students can change their sanitary pads during their menstruation period and maintain personal hygiene.” There are 32,000 community schools throughout the country.

Related web site: WASH in Schools

Source: Kantipur / NGO Forum, 31 Jan 2011

WSSCC’s Global Sanitation Fund programme in Nepal seeks sub-grantees

UN-Habitat, the Executing Agency for the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council’s (WSSCC) Global Sanitation Fund (GSF) programme in Nepal, is now seeking expressions of interest for potential sub-grantees to carry out GSF work on the ground in the country.

UN-Habitat will implement the hygiene and sanitation programme in five districts: Arghakhanchi, Bajura, Bardiya, Sindhupalchowk and Sunsari, and in the municipalities of Dharan, Gularia, Inaruwa, Itahari and Tikapur.

Sub-grantees can be Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs), Community Based Organizations (CBOs), private firms and local government bodies.

Deadline: 28 January 2011

For more details read the full Call for Expression of Interest (EOI)

Related web site: WSSCC – Global Sanitation Fund

Please do not send EOIs or requests for information to WASH news Asia & Pacific

Nepal, Pokhara: collateral-free loans for water connection

A bank in Pokhara is said to be the first in Nepal to provide collateral-free loans to people to get a piped water supply connection. All the bank requires is consent from the neighbours.

Kamana Development Bank is providing loans to the poor consumers of Lekhnath municipality who can not afford to get a water supply connection on their own. “We are providing a facility to those who cannot afford for pipeline connection at once,” said Umesh Acharya, Chief Executive Officer of the bank, adding, “We do not ask for any collateral, but we only need consent of the neighbours.”

Lekhnath Small Town Water Supply Project is charging Rs. 15,100 [US$ 200] for a new pipeline connection and the bank is providing loan facility to the people who cannot pay the total cost at once. According to Acharya, the bank is providing a 2-year loan covering 80 percent of the total connection cost.

Interest rates, according to the bank’s website, are 15-19%.

Chandra Krishna Karmacharya, president, Water Supply Consumers Committee said, “With this kind of facility, people will not have to be deprived of drinking water just because of financial problem.”

Source : Kantipur / NGO Forum, 25 Jul 2010