In India

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Our history in IndiaWaterAid is an international charity established in 1981 with the vision of a world where everyone has access to safe water and sanitation. Headquartered in United Kingdom, WaterAid works in 26 countries worldwide, transforming millions of lives every year with safe water, sanitation and hygiene.

WaterAid has been working in India since 1986 and is recognised as a key player in the WASH (Water, Sanitation, Hygiene) sector at both national as well as state level.

WaterAid has a clear focus – water, sanitation and hygiene – and seeks to improve access to safe water, and sanitation and promote improved hygiene for all. We believe these basics as fundamental to human and sustainable development and to the eradication of

poverty.

Our work in IndiaIndia is one of the fastest growing economies of the world, yet has poor social development indicators and a large population of the poor. The eradication of extreme poverty is only possible if everyone has affordable as well as sustainable access to basic amenities such as water, sanitation and hygiene. Water and sanitation are basic human rights, and we believe that universal access to WASH services is achievable with the right political will and deployment of resources. Though ambitious in a country, which is fraught with corruption, inefficiency, inequalities and social exclusion, yet WaterAid India has a goal to “Make WASH poverty a history in the country”.

To achieve this, we engage in the areas with the greatest concentration of excluded and marginalised communities and include them in local decision making and also help revive and strengthen the local governance institutions. The lessons learnt through service delivery work on the ground are used as evidence for engaging with local and state governments and in national level advocacy for reforms in policy and practice. We support the central government programmes like Swachh Bharat Mission and National Rural Drinking Water Programme and try to ensure that they enshrine principles of quality, equity and sustainability, the foundation of all WaterAid’s programmes.

We also support governments to strengthen systems and processes through inclusive policies, plans and monitoring the effectiveness of WASH service delivery, advocate for the essential role of safe water, improved hygiene and sanitation in human development particularly in health, nutrition, and education and facilitate and foster an enabling environment for collaboration, convergence, learning and growth.

Influencing long-lasting change is integral to everything we do. We change the lives of individuals living without water and sanitation by working directly at the community level and influence those responsible for delivering these basic services to achieve universal access. We use our experience, our work with partner organisations and our learning through research and analysis to influence policy and practice change at national to global levels. We help to empower communities to call for change and decision-makers to deliver it. Our priority is to reach the poorest and most marginalised people and to ensure that no one is left

behind. In India currently, we work in 11 states.

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Poor water quality resulting from insufficient and delayed investment in water-treatment facilities is a major issue that India is facing today. Water in most rivers in India is largely not fit for drinking, and in many stretches not even fit for bathing. Thus, providing potable water to this huge population is an enormous challenge that the country is facing. The lack of water availability and poor management practices have also manifested in poor sanitation facilities, one among the biggest environmental and social challenges India faces today.

Lack of access to safe drinking water and sanitation is often related to economic, political and social power

imbalances, and discrimination against certain groups or communities. The time and energy required to fetch water along with the negative health impacts of using dirty water, also has a huge impact on people’s ability to work or get education. Poor communities often cannot access sufficient quantities of safe water locally, due to infrastructure and bad management of services or lack of political will to prioritise the right to water. Thus, we work with local partners to help achieve access to potable water and to ensure that the local government takes up water quality testing and the community is trained to track information and take

actions on the issues.

Working for WASH:The non-negotiables of life

Water

India

1. Uttar Pradesh

2. Bihar

3. Jharkhand

4. Odisha

5. Madhya Pradesh

6. Chhattisgarh

7. Telangana

8. Andhra Pradesh

9. Tamil Nadu

10. Karnataka

11. Delhi

WaterAid India has its presence in the following 11 states:

1

2

35

6

4

7

89

10

11

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Access to safe sanitation is a global development priority. However, almost one in every two Indians doesn’t have access to safe toilets. Universal access to sustainable sanitation services is critical to the health of human beings as one gram of faeces can contain upto 10,000,000 viruses, 1,000,000 bacteria, 1,000 parasite cysts and 100 parasite eggs. Exposure to germs from faeces causes not only diarrhea in

children, but over the long term, damages intestinal tissues that help absorb nutrients. This can also lead to stunted growth in children. Still, open defecation is endemic in India and has been a major obstruction in achieving millennium development goals. Moreover, having to defecate in the open infringes on human safety and dignity.

Sanitation

WaterAid in India works with local partners to help

communities’ access proper sanitation. We only

use practical technologies and make sure the right

skills exist in the community so they can keep them

working long into the future. We also ensure that the

excluded and marginalised people are educated on

their rights and entitlements and are trained to use

the legal instruments available and supported to

take leadership roles, so that they not only actively

participate in the processes, but also inspire and

lead their communities towards claiming rights and

entitlements.

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Research has shown that ingraining the habit of

handwashing could save more lives than any single

vaccine or medical intervention. Hand washing alone

could cut the risk of diarrhoea almost in half, saving

hundreds of lives every day. Where poor hygiene is

practised, water-related diseases spread fast. And no

amount of taps or toilets alone can prevent it. At WaterAid,

hygiene promotion aiming for positive behaviour change

is integrated into everything we do, and forms part of a

three-pronged approach alongside water and sanitation.

Lack of awareness of menstrual hygiene affects physical

and mental health, and can also have an impact on

economies and societies at large. This includes increased

dropout rates in schools with inadequate facilities, as well

as increased health costs and the cost of missed labour.

Using rags or unwashed cloths has been linked to serious

infections.

WaterAid with help from its local partners is working to

address the taboos surrounding menstruation by teaching

women and their families on how to manage their periods.

We help build separate toilets and taps for girls in schools

and start hygiene clubs where girls can learn about their

health and how to make safe and reusable sanitary towels.

Hygiene

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An inclusive, child friendly and accessible school

environment is important for every child to achieve their

full potential. Most girls drop out of school because of

lack of toilets in the school premises. Sanitation facilities

and an enabling environment to practice and manage

menstrual hygiene is an equally important aspect for

school going girls to focus on their studies.

Children are quick to learn and can act as fantastic

ambassadors for good hygiene within their families and

communities. WaterAid firmly believes that investments

in school sanitation and hygiene education together

can create improved learning environments, thereby

facilitating increased attendance and retention of

students.

As children are generally more vulnerable to the effects of

not having safe water and sanitation, we seek to include

their needs alongside those of adults. We work with

Governments and Partners to address the provision of

child friendly, accessible and functional WASH facilities

in schools and create an environment where all children

can use safe toilets, wash hands with soap before midday

meals and after using toilets to bring about improved

education and health outcomes for school going children

in India.

Newborn deaths could be significantly reduced if more attention were given to creating clean birthing environments including safe water, sanitation and hygiene facilities. Research has found that ‘clean birth practices’ including handwashing with soap in homes and birthing facilities were associated with reduced all-cause, sepsis and tetanus related newborn deaths.

Access to WASH throughout a mother’s lifespan impacts newborn health. Stunting during childhood is a risk for obstructed labour in later life. Maternal anemia caused by poor nutrition and hookworm infections increases the risks associated with pregnancy and child birth. It can cause pre-term births, which account for approximately 35% of all newborn deaths. WHO estimates that 50% of malnutrition is due to repeated diarrhoea or intestinal worm infections because of inadequate WASH. Approximately 25% of all stunting can be attributed to

five or more episodes of diarrhoea before the age of two and 88% of cases of diarrhoea are directly related to inadequate WASH.

WaterAid works with government and civil society organisations towards ensuring that WASH interventions lead to improved nutrition and reduced childhood diarrhoea. WaterAid’s four-year advocacy priority (2015-2019) called ‘Healthy Start’ focuses on improving the health and nutrition of newborn babies and children by advocating for access to water, sanitation, and hygiene services to be integrated into health policy and programming and delivery locally, nationally and internationally. WaterAid is committed to supporting national, state and local governments in implementing national standards related to water, sanitation and hygiene in healthcare settings.

WASH in Schools

WASH in Health

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Washing Hands Together for a World Record Attempt:

A PHOTO ESSAY All photos: WaterAid/Areeb Hashmi

More than 40,000 teachers and volunteers helped in organising the school children and ensuring that the attempt goes off simultaneously in multiple locations across the state

To ensure entry into the Guinness World Records, the entire activity was organised by following the established guidelines of Guinness

More than 20,000 witnesses and an equal number of videographers helped with the process

Currently, the declared figures are under audit for submission to the Guinness Book of World Record*

Around 14,78,685 school children participated in the attempt from 15,233 schools of the state

Hand washing with soap is among the most effective and inexpensive ways to prevent

diarrhoeal diseases and pneumonia

The attempt was to enable greater awareness about the critical role of handwashing in hygiene promotion

*The verification and final declaration from Guinness Book of World Record is awaited.

On Global Handwashing Day (October 15, 2014), the state government of Madhya Pradesh and WaterAid’s MPWASH programme attempted a Guinness Book of World Record to have the maximum number of children wash their hands at one time across the state

WaterAid’s Offices in India WaterAid India – Country Office

403, 4th Floor, CNI Bhavan, 16 Pandit Pant Marg, New Delhi -110 001 (India), Tel: +91-11-4608 4400, Fax: +91-11-4608 4411 Email: waindia@wateraid.org

WaterAid India – East Office

Plot No. 1266, Bhoi Nagar, Unit 9, Bhubaneswar – 751 022, Odisha, Tel: +91- (0)674-253 1266, Tele-Fax: +91- (0)674-253 1267 Email: wairoe@wateraid.org

WaterAid India – West Office

E-7/799, Arera Colony, Bhopal – 462 016, Madhya Pradesh, Tel: +91-(0)755-429 4724, 246 0369 Tele-Fax: +91-(0)755-429 4724 Email: wairow@wateraid.org

WaterAid India – North Office

2/203 Vishal Khand, Gomti Nagar, Lucknow – 226 010, Uttar Pradesh, Tel: +91-(0)522-407 4476, 406 5412 Tel-Fax: +91-(0)522-406 5413 Email: wairon@wateraid.org

WaterAid India – South Office

609, 2nd Main Indiranagar, Bangalore – 560 038, Karnataka Tel: +91-(0)80-4204 2481 Tele-Fax: +91-80-2525 6870 Email: wairos@wateraid.org

WaterAid India – MPWASH Office

9C & 9D Paramount Villa Oppt. Ansal Appartment Shymla Hills, Bhopal Tel: +91-9179084484 Email: Mluckose@mptast.org

www.wateraid.org/india l WaterAidIndia l WaterAidIndia

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