Water and Sanitation Guide

7/29/2019 Water and Sanitation Guide

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WATER AND SANITATION GUIDE

Collecting water in Chennai Peter Armstrong

The achievement of providing two billion people with access to safe

drinking water since 1990 is diminished by the absence of matching

investment in sanitation. The consequent indignities undergone by more than

a third of the worlds population is a major cause of child mortality and

chronic health problems in developing countries. Climate change

uncertainties cast a menacing shadow over national efforts to honourcitizens rights to safe water and sanitation.

Water Scarcity Guide

Drinking Water Goals

Sanitation Goals

Finance

Capacity Limitations

Right to Water

Climate Change
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Drinking Water Goals

UN figures released in 2012 present the drinking water target as one

of the few success stories of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)

programme. Aggregate global coverage has advanced from 76% to 89%

between 1990 and 2010, thereby exceeding the 2015 target of 88%.

However, the inclusion of rich countries in these statistics masks the

lower percentage coverage experienced by much of the developing world. In

the 48 Least Developed Countries, the figure is only 63%. Only 19 out of 50

countries in sub-Saharan Africa are likely to reach the MDG target.

Publicity surrounding the attainment of one of the MDGs has

prompted a desire to understand what exactly has been achieved. Working

from a baseline of 1990, the wording of the Goal calls on governments to

"halve, by 2015, the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe

drinking water and sanitation."
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A source which separates the delivery of drinking water from

potential contamination, such as a piped supply or a protected well or spring,

is deemed to be safe. Interpretation of access has varied between

countries but generally refers to a household supply of 20 litres that can be

fetched within a 30 minute round trip, a distance of about one kilometre.

Given that simple low cost, low maintenance technologies are

available to fulfil these undemanding criteria, many observers havequestioned why the water Goal did not aspire to universal access. In 2010,

783 million people continued to gamble their health with unsafe drinking

water, a figure which is projected to fall only to 605 million by 2015.

There is also much concern about the absence of qualitative indicators

to support these measures of coverage, a shortcoming acknowledged by

Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) which compiles the biennial UN report.

Apart from deterioration caused by poor maintenance, some regions are

prone to chemical pollution (as in China) or natural contamination (as in the

arsenic crisis in parts of South Asia).
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Sanitation Goals

Defined as a facility which removes excreta from the risk of human

contact, safe sanitation encompasses covered pit latrines as well as flush

toilets.

Since its belated addition to the MDGs in 2002, the sanitation target

has been the Cinderella of the cause, attracting little over 10% of funds

earmarked for water and sanitation programmes. More Africans have access

to mobile phones than toilets. The same is true in India, a country which

boasts nuclear weapons and a space programme.

Development agencies must accept some responsibility, their publicity

cameras preferring to linger on happy children pumping water. Latrines offer

less inspiring images and copy. Even the UNs declaration of the period2005-2015 as the International Decade for Action - Water for Life

betrayed neglect of sanitation, in presentation if not intent.
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The consequence is that global access to safe sanitation increased only

from 49% to 63% in the period 1990-2010, leaving 2.5 billion people

unprotected. This figure has barely changed in recent years and is projected

to be 2.4 billion in 2015, dooming the MDG target of 75% to almost certain

failure.

Open defecation, the most degrading consequence, is still practised by

1.1 billion people, including half the population of India. In sub-Saharan

Africa, access to safe sanitation has advanced from 26% to just 30% over the

last two decades, extrapolating to arrive at the MDG target sometime during

the 22nd century.

In 2010 the UN corrected its earlier omission by establishing the

Sanitation Drive to 2015, an advocacy initiative to persuade governments

to close the sanitation gap.

Development agencies too have overhauled their presentations, in

particular by linking diarrhoea to unsafe sanitation and hygiene practices as

well as dirty water. They are also striving harder to convince rural

communities of the value of safe sanitation and improved hygiene practices.

Offering government subsidies for latrine construction without context has

been notoriously unsuccessful.

Promising results have been achieved in an approach known as

community-led total sanitation which promotes behaviour change through

peer group condemnation of open defecation as an anti-social habit.
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Unsafe water and sanitation facilities account for most of the 1.2 million

deaths of children under five each year caused by diarrhoea. They also cause

great suffering in both adults and children through diseases associated with

intestinal parasites.

Financing Water and Sanitation

This disappointing sanitation picture defies the logic of the

economics. World Banks Economics of Sanitation Initiative demonstrates

convincingly that the cost of inaction is impossible to defend.

This series of studies evaluates the losses within a national economy

attributable to the lack of safe sanitation. These encompass the time spent

fetching water, the loss of education of teenage girls who stay away fromschool due to the lack of toilet facilities, the expense of treating illnesses

caused by poor sanitation and hygiene, and the human loss through untimely

mortality.
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The results have been published for separate countries. In sub-Saharan

Africa, the cost of inadequate sanitation ranges from 1%-2% of GDP.

Corresponding figures for India and Bangladesh exceed a staggering 6% of

GDP.

The implication is that investment in safe sanitation will generate a

return which is of similar order to a countrys spending on health services.

An outcome on this scale was also suggested in a World Health

Organization study which concluded that each $1 of investment in sanitation

delivers a formidable $9 return.

This type of analysis also illustrates the contribution of water and

sanitation to other MDG targets such as child mortality, gender equity,

universal education, and poverty reduction.

Despite the compelling nature of this social and economic case, the

proportion of total foreign aid allocated to the sector fell from 8% to just

over 5% between 1997 and 2010. Less than half of the $8 billion figure in

2010 was directed to the two regions most in need sub-Saharan Africa and

South Asia. Furthermore, a 2008 commitment by African governments to

allocate a minimum of 0.5% of GDP to sanitation has not been fulfilled.

The alternative model of private sector finance for municipal water

and sanitation projects in developing countries has fallen out of favour since

peaking in the late 1990s. Criticism of privatisation has centred on the

tendency for commercial providers to favour middle class households at the

expense of poorer peri-urban settlements. This mismatch led to many

failures of private capital and confrontation with authorities.
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Pressure to restore relationships with the private sector is bound to resurface

as aid budgets come under pressure from the current austerity culture

prevailing in the donor economies.

Capacity Limitations

Coordination between ministries in developing countries is often poor,

not helped by the abundance of projects in the water and sanitation sector

sponsored by separate donors. For example, questions are increasingly

raised about inadequate maintenance resources for existing installations,

perhaps further drained in a sector prone to corruption.

Capacity limitations for implementing complex water projects may

contribute to lack of donor enthusiasm and is particularly worrying in the

context of the mushrooming city populations in the developing world.

Young migrants flooding in from rural areas have nowhere to go but

the unplanned slum settlements where infrastructure planning is most

difficult. The 2012 JMP report reveals that the number of urban citizens
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using unsafe water increased from 109 million to 130 million between 1990

and 2010, a worrying inversion of the achievement in rural areas.

The population of indian cities is projected to double by 2030 and

triple by 2050.

The Right to Water and Sanitation

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and its relevant legal

embodiment, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural

Rights, refer to the right to an adequate standard of living, without

elaboration.

Years of campaigning to capture the right to water and sanitation

within this broad terminology eventually came to fruition in a resolutionpassed by the UN General Assembly in July 2010. It recognised the right to

safe and clean drinking water and sanitation as a human right that is

essential for the full enjoyment of life and all human rights.
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Almost 50 countries now acknowledge their citizens right to water,

either in their constitutions or through other legal instruments. However, the

struggle to extend this list is likely to be long and hard as the UN

governance structure for water and sanitation lacks teeth. UN Water is not an

implementing agency with powers to bring pressure to bear on the distant

political processes involved in protecting the poor through national laws.

There are already signs of backsliding, as some countries appear to be

rejecting the custom of acknowledging human rights in preambles to

multilateral agreements. The outcome of the Rio+20 UN conference on

sustainable development will be an important test.

Official recognition of the right to water has bolstered opponents of

privatisation who argue that the profit motive has no place in the provision

of human lifes most essential need. However, the UN resolution has no

direct bearing on how water infrastructure should be financed, nor does itpreclude charging fees for supplies.

Its significance lies more in the obligation for projects to reach out to

all areas, however inaccessible, to ensure that fees are affordable and to

observe principles of non-discrimination on gender or other grounds.

A rights perspective also illustrates the weakness of the MDG

programme. The Goal to halve the proportion of the population which lacks

water and sanitation is an implicit licence to neglect the rights of the poorer

half who are invariably the most difficult to reach.
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Any post-2015 successor to the MDGs must surely aspire to achieve

universal access. And an improved understanding of the right to water could

translate into wider citizenship movements to b Climate Change

Global warming represents the worst possible intervention to the

challenge of providing safe water and sanitation for all. Rising planetary

temperatures will accelerate the pump of the natural water cycle through

faster evaporation from land and sea into a warmer atmosphere.

Precious water for desert herdsmen, Niger Edward Parsons / IRIN News

The implications for rainfall are of course the subject of intensive

research. There is broad agreement that monsoon patterns will change

in timing and intensity, that arid and semi-arid regions will become

drier, and that extremes of drought and flooding will become more

frequent. Rising sea levels will aggravate the problem of groundwater

salinity.

Much uncertainty remains and the implications for drinking water

cannot be separated from those for agriculture and commerce. The
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response of integrated water resources management (which combines

these needs) to climate change will focus on steps that are consistent

anyway with establishing greater resilience to variable rainfall.

For example, underground aquifers are by nature ideal for adaptation

because they smooth out short term changes in rainfall. Groundwater

recharge in developing countries can be revived by maintenance of

neglected storage tanks and drainage, supported by simple rainwater

harvesting technologies.

It seems clear that the poorest countries will be hardest hit by the impact ofclimate change. The 2011 emergency water relief for the Pacific

island of Tuvalu delivered a preview of water scarcity in a warming

world. ring local and national governments to account.

Water, Environment and Sanitation
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UNICEFs long standing support for improving water supply,

sanitation and hygiene stems from a firm conviction and based on sound

evidence that these are central to ensuring the rights of children.

In fact, it is essential for children to survive, grow and develop into

healthy and fulfilled citizens of the world. In the broader context, UNICEFs

activities in Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) contribute to the

achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.

Fast Facts

Hand washing with soap, particularly after contact with excreta, can

reduce diarrhoeal diseases by over 40 per cent and respiratory infections by

30 per cent. Diarrhoea and respiratory infections are the number one cause

for child deaths in India.

Hand washing with soap is among the most effective and inexpensive

ways to prevent diarrhoeal diseases and pneumonia.

With 638 million people defecating in the open and 44 per cent

mothers disposing their childrens faeces in the open, there is a very high

risk of microbial contamination (bacteria, viruses, amoeba) of water which

causes diarrhoea in children.

Children weakened by frequent diarrhoea episodes are more

vulnerable to malnutrition and opportunistic infections such as pneumonia.

About 48 per cent of children in India are suffering from some degree of

malnutrition. Diarrhoea and worm infection are two major health conditions

that affect school age children impacting their learning abilities.


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Adequate, well-maintained water supply and sanitation facilities in

schools encourage children to attend school regularly and help them achieve

their educational goals. Inadequate water supply and sanitation in schools

are health hazards and affect school attendance, retention and educational

performance.

Adolescent girls are especially vulnerable to dropping out, as many

are reluctant to continue their schooling because toilet facilities are not

private, not safe or simply not available

Women and girls face shame and a loss of personal dignity and safetyrisk if there is no toilet at home. They have to wait for the night to relieve

themselves to avoid being seen by others.

Sanitation

It is estimated that

Only 31 per cent of Indias population use improved sanitation (2008)

In rural India 21 per cent use improved sanitation facilities (2008)

One Hundred Forty Five million people in rural India gained access to

improved sanitation between 1990-2008

Two hundred and Eleven Million people gained access to improved

sanitation in whole of India between 1990-2008

India is home to 638 million people defecating in the open; over 50

per cent of the population.


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In Bangladesh and Brazil, only seven per cent of the population

defecate in the open. In China, only four per cent of the population

defecate in the open.

Water

88 per cent of the population of 1.2 billion has access to drinking water

from improved sources in 2008, as compared to 68 per cent in 1990.

Only a quarter the total population in India has drinking water on their

premise.

Women, who have to collect the drinking water, are vulnerable to a

number of unsafe practices. Only 13 per cent of adult males collect water.

Sixty seven per cent of Indian households do not treat their drinking

water, even though it could be chemically or bacterially contaminated.

Hygiene

According to the Public Health Association, only 53 per cent of the

population wash hands with soap after defecation, 38 per cent wash

hands with soap before eating and only 30 per cent wash hands with soap

before preparing food.

Only 11 per cent of the Indian rural families dispose child stools safely.

80 per cent childrens stools are left in the open or thrown into the

garbage.

Only 6 per cent of rural children less than five years of age use toilets.

WASH Interventions significantly reduce diarrhoeal morbidity;

statistically it has been shown that:

Handwashing with soap reduces it by 44 per cent


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Household water treatment by 39 per cent

Sanitation by 36 per cent

Water supply by 23 per cent

Source water treatment by 11 per cent.

Key Issues

Newborn Infants: Hand washing by birth attendants before delivery

has been shown to reduce mortality rates by 19 per cent while a 4 per

cent reduction in risk of death was found if mothers washed their

hands prior to handling their newborns.

Children under five years: Poor WASH causes diarrhoea, which is the

second biggest cause of death in children under five years. Diarrhoea

is an immediate cause of under nutrition

School-aged children: Children prefer to attend schools having

adequate and private WASH facilities. Schools provide an excellent

opportunity for children to learn about hygiene practices.

Older Girls: Giving girls the knowledge and facilities necessary for

good menstrual hygiene is key to their dignity, their privacy, their

educational achievement and their health. Adolescent girls are

empowered through improved menstrual hygiene management.

Mothers and Caregivers: Hand washing with soap at critical times is

important for protecting the health of the whole family. By being arole model, mothers and caregivers can also help instill in their

children the good hygiene practices which will serve them for life.


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Children in emergencies: During emergencies, children are especially

vulnerable to the effects of inadequate access to water and sanitation

services. WASH is a key component of any emergency response.

Chemical contamination in water ensuring water quality at the source

is crucial. In India, there is a widespread natural occurrence of arsenic

and fluoride in the groundwater. UNICEF is supporting Government

of India programs on arsenic and fluoride mitigation and identifying

water quality testing technologies which are appropriate for use in

field situations.

All emergencies cause disruption to basic services. People are lesslikely to be able to drink safe water, use basic sanitation facilities and

maintain improved hygiene practices. Children, especially those under

the age of five, are particularly vulnerable to the diseases which can

result during emergencies.

These diseases include diarrhoea, cholera, typhoid, respiratory

infections, skin and eye infections which are all likely to occur when

water supplies and sanitation services are disrupted. UNICEF has set

out minimum standards of response for any emergency situation.

These describe the life saving actions which UNICEF will take within

the first six to eight weeks of an emergency, along with the longer

term role in the subsequent weeks and months.

UNICEF Action

UNICEF supports the national and state governments in developing

and implementing a range of replicable intervention models for sanitation,

hygiene and water supply. UNICEFs Childs Environment Programme in


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India supports the governments flagship programmes of Total Sanitation

Campaign to improve access to and use of sanitation facilities and the

National Rural Drinking Water Programme to provide adequate safe water

to every rural household in India.

The Childs Environment program also works with Sarva Siksha

Abhiyan and Integrated Child Development Services, to promote hygiene

water and sanitation services in schools, Anganwadi centers and health

centers with lasting outcomes.

CRC@20 - The Right to Survival: Water, Sanitation and HygieneOn the 20th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child

(CRC), UNICEFs long- standing support to improving water supply,

sanitation and hygiene is highlighted and it is reinforced that these are

central to ensuring the rights of children.

Nirmal Gram award - A New Dawn for a Village in Uttar Pradesh

On the 20th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child

(CRC), UNICEFs long- standing support to improving water supply,

sanitation and hygiene is highlighted and it is reinforced that these are

central to ensuring the rights of children.
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