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VOL. 03, NO. 01, June 01, 2009 (Jestha 18 2066)
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WATER AND SANITATION
Challenges
To
Meet
In Himalayan republic 14 million people are living without access to sanitation and a further 6.8 million people have no pure drinking water. Therefore the challenges before Nepal are enormous. Studies have linked sanitation to many social problems from high drop out rates for young women in school, high infant mortality rates and social discrimination. Without improving the coverage of sanitation and drinking water, Nepal cannot reduce the present rate of poverty. Despite this, water and sanitation sector are yet to be prioritized by government and major donors. In a bleak scenario, Water Aid Nepal (WAN), a British based INGO, has demonstrated that small community programs can bring tangible change to the lives of millions of people living in rural parts of Nepal as well as local development program. WAN has been lobbying for access to fresh water and sanitation to be enshrined as a human right in the new constitution.
By KESHAB POUDEL
“As a politician and the member of Constituent Assembly, I would like to assure all of you that the new constitution will place sanitation and drinking water as a fundamental right,” said former minister of Works, Housing and Physical Planning addressing the program Amplifying Voices for Effective Sustainable, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Services for All organized by Water Aid Nepal last month. “We harped enough political slogans in the last two decades ignoring how many of our people do open deception and drinking undrinkable water.”
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| Water tap: No water to drink |
A decade ago, it would not have been possible to hear such statements from a minister. Minister Gachhedar, who signed the SACOSAN III declaration on behalf of Nepal in New Delhi November 2008, spent his 45 minutes long speech highlighting the importance of drinking water supply and sanitation facilities in society like Nepal.
Minister Gacchedar's remarks showed that the attitudes are changing at top level regarding sanitation and water. Thanks to the program and campaigns launched by International non-governmental organizations like WaterAid Nepal and several other local NGOs, people at various levels come to realize the importance of water resources and sanitation to reduce poverty.
“All of us know that without making a progress in the coverage of sanitation and drinking water, we cannot improve human development index,” said Suman Kumar Sharma, joint secretary of the Ministry of Works, Housing and Physical Planning.
A report prepared by Om Prasad Gautam, Social Development Adviser, Water Aid Nepal under the Water Sanitation and Hygine (revealed that there is high absenteeism and high drop-out rate among young women during the period of menstruation due to lack of proper facilities. The survey- which was based upon the study of various schools, revealed that half of the respondent (53 percent) had been absent in school at least once due to menstruation. Many women though physically present in the school, were unable to perform well due to poor concentration and attention resulting from the constant worry. Lack of privacy for cleaning and washing (41 percent) was the major reason identified by survey respondent for being absent during menstruation.
The recent studies have shown that one of the reasons behind the high infant mortality rate is due to water and sanitation. According to a study conducted by Water Aid Nepal, annually 10,500 children die in Nepal due to lack of drinking water and sanitation.
In 1990, Nepal’s water coverage was 46 percent and the coverage of sanitation was merely 6 percent. “Now the situation has changed, and the water supply coverage reached to 76 percent of population and sanitation is 46 percent. The 30 percent gap between sanitation coverage and water supply is a big challenge for health improvement,” said sociologist Kamal Adhikari, Environmental Sanitation Section, Department of Water Supply and Sewerage.
According to a report of WAN, however, water coverage is only as high as 48 percent, if a reasonable water fetching time (15 minutes) is factored into the calculation. Also it cannot be assumed that of this 48 percent all have access to safe water. The proportion of people who consume water without household treatment (e.g. boiling) is as low as 15 percent. In its report, "Improving Water and Sanitation Governance Through Citizens’ Action", WAN writes access to sanitation is gradually increasing, but at a lower rate than access to water. Sanitation coverage (latrinaisation) has reached 46 percent of people in Nepal.
This figure includes shared latrine facilities. The number of households with an individual family latrine is lower at 36 percent. Latrine sharing is more common in urban settlements than in rural (urban 34 percent and rural 8 percent) and is most widespread in slum and squatter dwellings.
Although Millennium Development Goal aims to provide sanitation and drinking water to all by 2015, Nepal sets 2017 as a date for universal coverage of water and sanitation.
A study conducted by Rabin Lal Shrestha, Research and Advocacy Manager Water Aid Nepal, revealed that due to poor sanitation and water standards Nepal loses Rs. 3.6 billion on account of health expenditure. This does not factor in the economic impact of disruptions to education and other social issues. In terms of benefits, global studies indicated that investment in water and sanitation can give economic return of Rs. 9 for ever Rs. 1 invested.
Annually, Nepal requires huge amount of budget to fulfill the demand of water and sanitation but the study conducted by Water Aid Nepal’s Shrestha shows that there is still a huge shortfall in investment. The three years Interim Plan 2007-10 plans to provide services to additional 796,000 people in the forthcoming year. However, the budget is only suffient for 477,000.
Growing Gap
With the shortfall in the budget, the gap is between haves and haves not continue to grow to extreme levels. The poor are at least eight times less likely to receive services than well to do communities.
WAN holds the view that pure drinking water and sanitation is a fundamental right of the citizen and it needs to be recognized as such in the constitution. During the third South Asian Ministerial Meeting on Sanitation in New Delhi, the ministers of the region agreed that sanitation needs to be considered the fundamental right of their citizens.
WAN is also planning to urge G-8 members to allocate enough resources for water and sanitation in the forthcoming meeting of G-8 members in Italy. WAN urges the developed countries to constitute an international institutional mechanism to review the development of water resources and sanitation annually.
With an aim to increase the access to water and sanitation, WAN, has been vigorously making efforts to sensitize the various stake holders like donor communities, government officials, NGOs and local community.
State of Sanitation
One in every two Nepali people practices the open air defecation. National Arsenic Steering Committee revealed that 15 percent of total 339,515 Tube wells have arsenic level above the WHO standards. According to this standard, 1.5 million people are using arsenic contaminated water. The national standard, which is lower, estimates about 300,000 people are using arsenic contaminated water.
As a major international partner supporting water and sanitation sectors in Nepal, Asian Development Bank has been providing much needed resources in the water and sanitation sector under different programs. US$700,000 was provided for the community based water management project . In 2008 it was provided for the water supply, sanitation, and waste water management: secondary towns integrated Urban Environmental improvement program. Similarly, under the Water Supply, Sanitation and waste management program, the ADB provides $45 million in grants in the areas of improving the quality of water supply, sanitation, and urban service delivery to emerging towns and development projects in the period of 2009-11.
According to ADB’s Country Partnership Strategy Midterm Review 2005-2009, at the end of the Tenth Plan in 2006, 76.6 percent of the population had access to drinking water against the planned target of 85 percent, while nearly 45.8 percent of the population had access to improved sanitation (against the target 50 percent).
Under the Global End Water Poverty Campaign Sanitation and Water For all, Water Aid has been putting pressure on G8 countries to pay attention in sanitation and water areas. Addressing a program in Kathmandu last month Barbara Frost, CEO, Water Aid UK said that water and sanitation are two key elements without which there can be no sustainable development in health, education and livelihoods, locking people into a cycle of poverty and diseases.
Nepal’s quest for development cannot be meet without bringing change in the present status of water and sanitation. What Nepal needs is now to increase financial flows as well as to recognize sanitation and water as a fundamental rights through participation of the organization like WAN.
“MDG Target Will be Met”
Suman Sharma
Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Work, Housing and Physical Planning SUMAN SHARMA is well known person having long experiences working in the areas of drinking water supply and sanitation. Sharma now heads the water and sanitation division at the Ministry. Excerpts:
How do you see the state of sanitation and drinking water? Is Nepal in a position to meet the Millennium Development Goal by 2015?
I can definitely say that the MDG target will be met. These targets are derived from 1990 base figures. The activities in water supply and sanitation is quite good. We have already increased our water supply coverage to 78 percent and 48 percent in sanitation. Although our figure meets the MDG by 2017 our national target to provide basic sanitation and water.
How do you derive the base?
This target is derived from 1992 base figure. The pace of development in water supply and sanitation is satisfactory. We have already 78 percent in water supply and 48 percent in sanitation. We have recorded figures of 78 percent in drinking water and 48 percent in sanitation coverage. Even if we meet MDG’s target, we have our national target that is to increase the universal coverage by 2017 in sanitation and drinking water. Everybody should have the right to water and sanitation facilities.
How do you see the gap in resources?
It is not necessarily the government is alone responsible to this gap. MDG is a coverage generated by the activities within the country. The plan is built looking at the government and outside sources. The resources are coming but the problem is that there is not streamline. There duplication of the work in some places by different agencies but in some place there is virtually no project at all. One of the studies conducted by Water Aid Nepal showed that there was duplication of the program.
How do you see the state of program?
If we see the map of concentration of sanitation projects, we can a lot of agencies are concentrating in same area. For example, the places like Kalikot, Humla and Mugu, we don’t see any programs. But, there is concentration of lots of agencies in urban areas. The government has increased its resources in water supply and sanitation. If we read, we can see overwhelmingly the budget is diverted to the major project. I can say now that without such big projects, the resources has increased a lot.
How much budget do you require?
We need approximately about Rs. 7 billion by 2017. According to that plan, we need about Rs. 1 billion in sanitation but we are spending hardly Rs.50 million. There is a huge gap in sanitation but there need to optimize the resources in drinking water.
How do you see the support of international donors?
They are very much supportive to us. For example, the World Bank recently agreed to provide 40 million dollars. After a visit by a director of the Bank, they saw the relations between people, development, water and sanitation. They realise that so much could be done with so little cost and change the quality of people’s life.
How important the sanitation and water sector?
It has linkage with almost all index of MDG. For example if you want to increase access in education, you need to increase sanitation in schools. Because of lack of toilets, young women are not going to school.
Which is the donor agency leading in terms of investment in water and sanitation?
Actually, it is the Asian Development Bank which is the leading agency now investing in the water and sanitation sectors. They have been supporting the urban water supply programs in different parts of the country.
How about INGO?
Among the International Non-governmental Organizations, Water Aid Nepal is the leading agency supporting various water and sanitation program throughout the country.
