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WaterAid India Organises Virtual Run - The Blue Mile 2.0 for ensuring better access to water for everyone, everywhere

WaterAid India — Mon, 28 Dec 2020 10:36:03 +0000

WaterAid India Organises Virtual Run - The Blue Mile 2.0 for ensuring better access to water for everyone, everywhere

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WaterAid India

28 December 2020

India

As 2020 draws to a close and a new year beckons, WaterAid India is organising a ‘run’ for water – The Blue Mile 2.0. Following the success of The Blue Mile run in 2019, Blue Mile 2.0 further aims to draw attention and support of the citizens to the issues and challenges associated with access to safe and sustainable solutions to water for millions of people, especially in the times where access to water has become crucial in safeguarding against pandemic like COVID-19.

Divided into two phases (Phase I – December 26th – 30th, 2020; Phase II – January 26th - 30th, 2021) the run is going virtual this time. This means that people from across the nation can participate and support the cause of access to clean water to everyone, everywhere. Being virtual, the run gives participants the freedom to determine their level of difficulty and choose their running buddies. Moreover, the participants can run at a time and a place suitable for them.

To participate in the run, one will simply need to register at www.wateraidbluemilerun.in and fill in basic details including a small donation starting from ₹ 100 towards the cause, and you will receive an automated email confirmation, which serves as your entry pass for the Run. This donation amount will be further utilised towards projects and programmes on creating better access to safe water in the areas of need and will also be exempted from tax under 80G. Following the registration, participants will be required to walk or run for at least 1 km a day during the run days and capture their walk or run on any fitness app and share it on their social media page using the hashtag #Bluemile2. The cumulative distance covered during the five days of the two phases will be the deciding factor for the winners.

Vikas Kataria, Director, Resource Mobilisation, WaterAid India said, “This year’s Blue Mile run holds a different significance as WaterAid India continues to work to make handwashing with soap and water, an important factor in the prevention of COVID 19, a reality for all. Citizens will run or walk to ensure a safe and a COVID 19 free nation.”

ENDS

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WaterAid India

India

Ground water our most precious buffer to climate change requires our action and attention

WaterAid India — Wed, 04 Nov 2020 05:36:53 +0000

Ground water our most precious buffer to climate change requires our action and attention

4 November 2020

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WaterAid multi-country research on water security: HSBC Water Programme

Hundreds of millions of people depend upon groundwater for their daily needs, health and livelihoods. It is also the main source of water for food production and industry. Groundwater – Water that is found underground in gaps between soil, sand and rock - is found almost everywhere, is tolerant to drought and so acts as a buffer in times of water scarcity. However, to planners, since groundwater is too often out of sight it is vulnerable to over-extraction, unregulated pollution and unchecked contamination.

WaterAid commissioned the research into groundwater security and sustainability issues in five countries - Bangladesh, Ghana, India, Nepal and Nigeria – where collectively, more than 165 million people still lack access to clean water close to home. These countries depend almost entirely on groundwater for domestic water supply, especially in rural areas.

Key findings reveal how unreliable data seriously impedes the effective management of groundwater in these countries. For example, in Nepal and Nigeria records are often on paper or in incompatible digital formats. Consequently, governments are blindly making policies that are ill-informed of their current groundwater situation, meaning that problems cannot be identified and addressed before they become critical. Left unchecked, the lack of data will significantly limit the monitoring and evaluation of groundwater quantity and quality, meaning it can’t be relied on by millions of people who depend on it for their daily water supply.

The findings also show how a widespread lack of legal control over how much groundwater is extracted and by whom, leaves these vital reserves at high risk of exploitation. In Bangladesh, Nigeria and Nepal there are few specific laws and policies for groundwater management, or existing regulation is not enforced. For example, over 35 million people in Bangladesh are exposed to dangerous concentrations of naturally-occurring arsenic in their drinking water, vastly exceeding legal maximum levels, yet this is persistently ignored by authorities. Unless groundwater is protected, many communities risk not having enough water for their basic needs in the future, particularly as surface water sources may be altered through climate change. This chronic lack of enforced groundwater policies embeds the risk of over-exploitation and pollution.

Vincent Casey, WaterAid’s Senior WASH Manager for Water - International Programmes said:

“Groundwater provides much-needed protection against the impacts of climate change, acting as a buffer to changing water availability and quality in many parts of the world. The climate clock is ticking and if efforts are not made to better-understand, value and protect this vital resource, making it a central feature of climate change adaptation strategies, then we face a very bleak future.”

Chandra Ganapathy, Head Knowledge Management, WaterAid India said:

“Groundwater provides much-needed protection against the impacts of climate change, acting as a buffer to changing water availability and quality in many parts of the world. The climate clock is ticking and if efforts are not made to better-understand, value and protect this vital resource, making it integral to climate change adaptation strategies, then we face extreme adverse impacts of climate change.”

The Water Security Research was undertaken with funding from HSBC, you can download the full report here.

ENDS

WaterAid multi-country research on water security: HSBC Water Programme

माहवारी स्वच्छता प्रबंधन - सैनिटरी पैड की कमी को देखते हुए वैकल्पिक समाधान की ओर

WaterAid India — Thu, 28 May 2020 08:38:06 +0000

माहवारी स्वच्छता प्रबंधन - सैनिटरी पैड की कमी को देखते हुए वैकल्पिक समाधान की ओर

28 May 2020

Girls and women

लगभग दो महीनो के लॉकडाउन के बाद भारत एक नए सामान्य की ओर बढ़ रहा है। दो महीने पहले और अबके सामान्य में काफी अंतर है , पर इस बीच एक चीज़ जो नहीं बदली वो है माहवारी स्वच्छता प्रबंधन की तरफ ध्यान देने की ज़रूरत और प्रतिबध्तिता । 28 मई को माहवारी स्वच्छता दिवस मनाया जाता है। इस दिन का मुख्य उद्देश्य है महिलाओं और किशोरियों को सुरक्षित और स्वच्छ मासिक धर्म का अनुपालन करने के लिए सही उत्पादों, सूचना और सुविधाओं का उपयोग करने के लिए अवगत कराना।

कोविड 19 के कारण कई चीज़ो के उत्पादन और वितरण में कमी आयी है, जिसे आपूर्ति में बांधा आ रही हैं। सैनिटरी पैड भी इसी कारण हर जगह उपलब्ध नहीं हो पा रहे हैं। मेंस्ट्रुअल हेल्थ अलायन्स ने अप्रैल 2020 में एक सर्वेक्षण किया था । वाटरएड इंडिया मेंस्ट्रुअल हेल्थ अलायन्स का सह-अध्यक्ष है। सर्वेक्षण के उत्तरदाताओं में 45 संगठन (एनजीओ और निर्माता) शामिल थे जो पूरे भारत में सैनिटरी उत्पादों का निर्माण या वितरण करते हैं, और समुदायों में माहवारी स्वच्छता को बढ़ावा देने का काम करते हैं।

सर्वेक्षण में लड़कियों और महिलाओं तक, कोविड के दौरान, पैड की पहुंच बढ़ाने की चुनौतियों पर प्रकाश डाला गया। 82% संगठनों ने उल्लेख किया कि जिन समुदायों में वो काम करते है वहा मासिक धर्म के उत्पादों की या तो अत्यधिक कमी है या बिलकुल भी उपलब्धता नहीं है , विशेष रूप से सैनिटरी पैड की। इसका प्रमुख कारण उत्पादन इकाइयों का संचालित नहीं होना था। सर्वेक्षण में पाया गया कि छोटे और मध्यम स्तर के निर्माताओं में से 58% क्षमता पर काम करने में असमर्थ थे और 37% बिल्कुल भी चालू नहीं थे।

कुछ इकाइयों ने साझा किया कि वह फेस मास्क बना रही हैं जिस कारण पैड के उत्पादन में गिरावट आयी है।

सैनिटरी पैड की कमी के चलते किशोरियों और महिलाएं कपड़े का उपयोग करना शुरू कर सकती हैं लेकिन उनको इसके उचित उपयोग और रखरखाव के बारे में पर्याप्त जानकारी होना आवश्यक है।

इस बात का हल निकालने के लिए महिला एवं बाल विकास विभाग, मध्य प्रदेश ने वाटरएड के सहयोग से , किशोरियों और महिलाओं को स्वच्छ सूती कपड़े का उपयोग करके घर पर बने सूती कपड़े के पैड का उपयोग कर स्वच्छ माहवारी प्रबंधन के लिए एक विकल्प दिया हैं।

महिला एवं बाल विकास विभाग, मध्य प्रदेश द्वारा उठाए गए कदम के बारे में बोलते हुए, सुश्री राजपाल कौर, अपर निदेशक, ने कहा कि “मध्य प्रदेश में 97,000 आंगनवाड़ी केंद्र हैं जो 40 लाख लड़कियों और महिलाओं को उदिता योजना के माध्यम से सैनिटरी पैड उपलब्ध कराते हैं। इस वर्ष लक्ष्य 60 लाख लोगों तक पहुंचने का था, लेकिन कोविड 19 महामारी ने अप्रत्याशित बाधाएं पैदा कीं। महामारी ने सैनिटरी पैड की आपूर्ति में भी कमी पैदा की। मासिक धर्म स्वच्छता प्रबंधन में लड़कियों और महिलाओं का समर्थन करने के लिए, डब्ल्यूसीडी मध्य प्रदेश उन्हें घर के सूती कपड़े के पैड जैसे वैकल्पिक तरीकों का उपयोग करने में मदद कर रहा है। राज्य का ग्रामीण अजिविका मिशन भी सक्रिय रूप से सैनिटरी पैड का उत्पादन और वितरण कर रहा है। एमएचएम के लिए सहायता प्रदान करने के लिए विभाग लड़कियों और महिलाओं के संपर्क में है।" सुश्री राजपाल कौर ने वाटरएड द्वारा दिए गए सहयोग की भी सराहना की ।

अरुंधति मुरलीधरन, प्रबंधक नीति, वाटरएड इंडिया, ने कहा,

“कोविड 19 के समय में माहवारी स्वच्छता पर ध्यान देना और भी अनिवार्य हो जाता है। हम कार्यरत है कि सभी किशोरी और महिलायें पैड की आपूर्ति ना होने की स्थिति में सही और सुरक्षित विकल्प आसानी से अपना पाए।

अधिक जानकारी के लिए कृपया संपर्क करें: Mediain@wateraid.org

Girls and women

“Periods don’t stop during pandemics” – WaterAid supports to find alternate MHM solution in view of sanitary pad shortage

WaterAid India — Thu, 28 May 2020 05:02:37 +0000

“Periods don’t stop during pandemics” – WaterAid supports to find alternate MHM solution in view of sanitary pad shortage

Posted by

WaterAid India

28 May 2020

WaterAid/Prashanth Vishwanathan

As India gradually opens towards a new normal following almost two months of lockdown, one phenomenon that has remained constant and in need of more focus is Menstrual Hygiene Management or MHM. As we observe Menstrual Hygiene Day on May 28, 2020, a sizeable population of girls and women continue to grapple with challenges to access safe and hygienic menstrual hygiene products, information, and sanitation facilities required to manage periods hygienically and with dignity.

The COVID 19 pandemic has created a gap in the production and distribution of menstrual hygiene products. To ascertain the supply chain and access issues, the Menstrual Health Alliance India (MHAI) conducted a rapid response survey in mid-April 2020. MHAI is co-chaired by WaterAid India. Respondents of the survey included 45 organisations (NGOs and manufacturers) that manufacture or distribute sanitary products across India and promote MHM in communities.

The survey highlighted increased challenges for girls and women to access period products. 82% of organizations noted that there was either no access or severely restricted access to menstrual products in communities that they work in, especially for sanitary padsOne of the major reason behind this was partial to no operation of production units. The survey found that58% of the small and medium scale manufacturers were unable to operate at capacity and 37% were not operational at all.

Some organizations supporting production units shared that they were either planning or have started producing much-needed face masks, potentially diverting resources away from the production of sanitary pads.

In the absence of sanitary pads, girls and women may turn to using cloth, but without adequate information on proper use and maintenance of cloth, they risk unhygienic management of menses.

Globally, one in four women and girls do not have access to a decent toilet, making it more difficult to manage their periods hygienically and with dignity. During the pandemic, some shared or public toilets have closed or not been disinfected regularly, resulting in safety risks for those who rely on these facilities, while those who have found it harder to get water at a time when households need to wash their hands more regularly may have less water for menstrual needs.

As supply chain hurdles look to stay awhile, WaterAid has collaborated with Women and Child Development Department, Madhya Pradesh to help adolescent girls and women opt for an alternative yet hygienic way to manage their periods by using homemade cotton cloth pads made using a clean cotton cloth. With this measure, WaterAid India hopes to offset the implications of the gap in production and distribution channel of sanitary pads while keeping the behaviour change towards better MHM intact.

Arundati Muralidharan, Manager Policy, WASH, WaterAid India, said:

Over the past 10 years, India has made significant strides to improve menstrual hygiene practices in terms of providing information on menstruation and menstrual hygiene, addressing taboos, and improved access to menstrual hygiene products. The COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown heightened the menstrual health and hygiene needs of women and girls across India, as access to both information and products from regular channels was unexpectedly and suddenly curtailed.

We need to be responsive and agile to the current situation. We see that adolescent girls who may typically use sanitary pads, now have to use cloth, but do not know how to. They need information on how to make, use, and maintain cotton cloth pads in a safe and hygienic manner. We need to get this information to them in easily accessible formats.

During the lockdown, girls and women using shared sanitation facilities – community toilets, public toilets, have found themselves unable to use the toilet when they have to – especially during their periods. It's challenging to maintain hygiene when you cannot use a toilet and don’t have access to water.

The pandemic has underscored the need to strengthen menstrual health and hygiene programming per se across the value chain, addressing access to information, a basket of safe menstrual hygiene products, access to WASH facilities and waste disposal options. This way girls and women across India have safe and healthy periods in general and during crises.

ENDS

For more information, please contact: Our media team at Mediain@wateraid.org

Water as “first line of defence” against growing threat of climate change

WaterAid India — Sun, 22 Mar 2020 05:57:17 +0000

Water as “first line of defence” against growing threat of climate change

22 March 2020

WaterAid’s analysis of global water access On the frontline: The state of the world’s water 2020 examines how climate change is making it harder for people in the world’s poorest countries to rely on being able to drink clean water every day, whilst highlighting the currently inadequate amounts of climate finance spent in these countries to help them cope with the impacts of climate change.

Everyone needs water to survive. Ensuring that everyone has a source of safe water they can rely on whatever the weather, is the vital first line of defence against the growing threat of climate change. The most immediate and widespread impacts of climate change are felt through water – extreme droughts, sea level rises, more frequent floods and powerful storms, all of which threaten people’s access to safe water.

India is the 51st most vulnerable country to climate change – among the top 30% in the world - but only receives USD $3.20 per person, per year in climate finance. This is for both mitigation – cutting carbon emissions – and adaptation – reducing the impacts of climate change. While developing countries contribute very little to global carbon emissions, they are the least prepared to withstand the effects, with little money allocated towards helping them. The average person in India accounts annually for emissions of 1.728 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide - compared to the average per capita emission in the United States of 16.5 metric tonnes.

Across the world nearly 800 million people do not have access to clean water close to home, while a staggering two billion people do not have access to a water service that is free from contamination, putting them at risk of waterborne disease and death.

By 2050, the number of people expected to face problems in getting water at least once a month is expected to swell to five billion globally – over 50% of the world’s population. Access to clean water is uniquely vulnerable as climate change piles more pressure on water sources that are already overstretched due to inadequate infrastructures, poor water management and a lack of government funding.

Key findings:

Half of all countries get less than USD $5.20 in climate finance per person, per year to help them cope with the climate crisis.
Only 5% of climate finance is spent on helping countries adapt to climate change. Even less is spent in the most vulnerable countries, and less still on vital services like clean water, placing billions of lives at risk.
Half of the countries where more than 10% of people do not have water close to home get less than 84 cents per person, per year in climate finance for water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) service adaptation.
The ten countries with the lowest number of people with access to water close to home get on average USD $1 per person, per year in climate finance for WASH – and Madagascar, where nearly half the population do not have water close to home, gets just 17 US cents per person, per year.

VK Madhavan, Chief Executive, WaterAid India said:

“No-one can survive without clean water. No-one can thrive if they struggle to find it. Our changing climate is making life harder for the world’s poorest people who are already struggling to get clean water.

“WaterAid’s report shows that far too little is spent on helping the most vulnerable people adapt to the impact of climate change which in turn is putting their health and lives at risk..”

ENDS

For more information, please contact: Our media team at Mediain@wateraid.org

A Water Campaign by Banda District Administration, WaterAid India and the Community creates a Limca Record

WaterAid India — Fri, 13 Mar 2020 07:52:14 +0000

A Water Campaign by Banda District Administration, WaterAid India and the Community creates a Limca Record

13 March 2020

‘Bhujal Badhao Payjal Bachao’ (Enhance Ground Water, Protect Drinking Water) campaign on water was recognized by the Limca Book of Records in February 2020 for ‘most contour trenches built and most jal chouplas conducted’ - construction of 2605 contour trenches, around 260 wells and 2183 hand pumps across 8 blocks and 470 Gram Panchayats creating additional 110001 cubic meters (or kilo litre) per annum of water recharge capacity and around 2443 drinking water sources (handpumps and wells).

Banda/Lucknow/New Delhi: The usually arid and drought prone district of Banda in Bundelkhand region recently became a shining example of how community led action supported by right planning and technical assistance and a collaboration between the District Administration and a non-profit WaterAid India can result in clean drinking water being accessible for everyone along with source sustainability for this parched region.

The stellar results of the campaign on water launched in 2018 called ‘Bhujal Badhao Pay Jal Bachao’ (Enhance Ground Water, Protect Drinking Water) conceptualized and implemented by the District Administration of Banda and WaterAid India to bring back water security in the region has been duly recognized by the Limca Book of Records for ‘most contour trenches built and most Jal Chouplas conducted’.

Led by Heera Lal, District Magistrate, Banda, the campaign launched in February 2019 is a first-of-its-kind of community engagement, using Jal Choupals at a district wide scale covering all the Gram Panchayats in a district for mass mobilization and action on water conservation, recharge of ground water, rainwater harvesting and mass awareness campaigns.

Banda has historically shown a high seasonal fluctuation of water availability in wells. A study published in 2015-16 showed that 71% wells in the districts had water depletion. Following this a structured tool of Water Budgeting using Jal Choupals (local governance) model towards democratization of water developed by WaterAid India was employed by the district administration.

The focus of the campaign was to mobilize and involve the people of Banda with the district administration in reviving neglected sources of water to rejuvenate and recharge groundwater thereby improving groundwater levels. The model of Jal Choupals resulted in triggering community action and volunteering through Shramdaan (free physical labour) in villages for the digging of community trenches and construction of rainwater harvesting structures.

The campaign was divided into three phases. In the first phase from February to March 2019 was the preparatory or foundation phase a core group was formed to run the campaign and resource persons especially from the community were trained and work on restoration and digging started. Phase two from April to July 2019 saw the community taking charge and getting into action to volunteer and implement the campaign to protect drinking water sources and enhance ground water through various water recharge initiatives. Phase three was about setting up rooftop rainwater harvesting along with monitoring and assessment of the exercise of the whole campaign.

34,732 people across 470 Gram Panchayats participated in Jal Choupals and assessed their community’s water budget taking in view domestic needs, animals’ needs, agriculture requirement (for 3 crops of Rabi Kharif and Jaid), water availability, participatory vulnerability assessment tool and construction design of contour trenches near water points. This also triggered the community action towards ‘shramdaan’ (free physical labour) for digging trenches around wells and handpumps as per technical designs prepared under the campaign.

The community action led to construction of 2605 contour trenches, around 260 wells and 2183 hand pumps across 8 blocks and 470 Gram Panchayats in Banda District. These contour trenches have created additional 110001 cubic meters (or kilo litre) per annum of water recharge capacity and around 2443 drinking water sources (handpumps and wells) in Banda district.

Heera Lal, District Magistrate of Banda during the campaign said:

“More than the record what matters is understanding the need to protect and re-charge water bodies. My effort is to dig ponds and wells in the hearts and minds of people. If the community understand the importance of water bodies and water recharge they will do everything for the upkeep”

The Story of Banda highlights how when the Government of Uttar Pradesh, WaterAid India and the people of Banda came together to address the issue of their water woes, they changed their fate not only for themselves and for the generations to come to be water secure.

Farrukh Khan, Regional Manager -North, Programmes and Policy, WaterAid India said:

‘Bhujal Badhao Payjal Bachao’ campaign is an inspiring example of how a convergent action led by district magistrate involving relevant departments, Panchayats and civil society organisations can motivate and mobilise communities towards ground water recharge and conservation with tangible results and lasting change. The campaign has not been a one off event but a sustained collective action to help Banda better prepared with drought mitigation & resilience to deal with climate change.

WaterAid India along with its partners Akhil Bhartiya Samaj Sevi Sansthan, PSI and MGCG Vishwavidalaya provided the technical support to the campaign.

WaterAid
WaterAid is an international not-for-profit, determined to make clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene normal for everyone, everywhere within a generation. Only by tackling these three essentials, in ways that last, can people change their lives for good. Working in India since 1986, WaterAid has successfully implemented water, sanitation, and hygiene projects, extending benefits to some of the poorest and most vulnerable communities across 13 plus of India’s 29 States. For more information, visit www.wateraidIndia.in, follow @WaterAidIndia on Twitter, or visit us on Facebook.

ENDS

For more information, please contact:
Our media team at Mediain@wateraid.org

The hidden world of sanitation workers: New report by WaterAid exposing grim working conditions of sanitation workers

Pragya Gupta — Thu, 14 Nov 2019 11:09:05 +0000

The hidden world of sanitation workers: New report by WaterAid exposing grim working conditions of sanitation workers

14 November 2019

Human rights

WaterAid/ CS Sharada Prasad

Millions of sanitation workers in India are forced to work in conditions that endanger their health and lives, according to the most extensive global study to date on the issue, which is released today.

Despite providing an essential public service, these workers are often the most marginalised, poor and discriminated against members of society who carry out their jobs with no equipment, protection or legal rights that often violates their dignity and human rights.

The report is the most extensive exploration to date on the plight of sanitation workers in the developing world. It is jointly authored by the International Labour Organisation, WaterAid, World Bank, and World Health Organization to raise awareness of the de-humanising working conditions and to push for change. Sanitation workers are the men and women who work at any part of the long sanitation chain that begins when we go to the toilet or leave other wastes out and ends when waste is disposed of or reused. Despite being involved in one of the most important jobs in society, these sanitation workers remain mostly unseen and unappreciated. Their jobs can include but not limited to, cleaning toilets and public places, segregating or managing different kinds of waste, emptying toilet pits and septic tanks, cleaning and maintaining sewers and manholes and operating pumping stations and treatment plants.

A study conducted by Dalberg Associates¹ in 2018, an estimated 5 million sanitation workers in various urban locations across India. They were categorised into nine broad types of sanitation workers identified along the sanitation value chain, including those engaged in cleaning sewers, cleaning latrines, faecal sludge handling, railway cleaning, work in waste treatment plants, community and public toilet cleaning, school toilet cleaning, sweeping and drain cleaning, and domestic work.

These workers often come into direct contact with human waste, working with no equipment or protection, which exposes them to a wide variety of health hazards and disease.

Toxic gases, such as ammonia, carbon monoxide and sulphur dioxide in septic tanks and sewers can cause workers to lose consciousness or die. It is estimated that three sanitation workers die every five days in India. Countless more suffer repeated infections and injury and have their lives cut short by the everyday risks of the job. Family members of the sanitation workers do struggle too, both due to the stigma of the work and due to the life losses or health consequences in their families.

Meenadevi, 58, cleans dry latrines in Dehri-on-sone, Bihar. Her mother-in-law also cleaned dry latrines, and died doing the job.

“Initially, I used to feel nauseated. I wasn’t ready and felt ashamed to work because of the stigma attached to it. But now I’m used to the foul smells. Poverty leaves you with no option. With the amount of discrimination we face, what else can we do to feed our stomach? Give us another job and we will leave this one immediately.”

Raman VR, Head of Policy at WaterAid India said:

“Sanitation workers carry out one of the most essential public service in society yet they are forced to work in conditions that puts their health, lives and dignity at risk. The harshest realities are that even today, the age old stigmatised caste system remains to be the key determinant of the fate of these workers. As a result, communities mainly belonging to the lowest rungs of caste system in India are compelled to continue performing these tasks, which are not just hazardous and stigmatising but also highly underpaid. Governments at different levels should identify and deploy new and improved measures and assistive technologies for ensuring sanitation and cleanliness in our urban and rural areas, ensuring decent work, safety, health, dignity and equity of the workers involved. Facilitating current sanitation workers and their families to own and run most of the technological alternatives can lead them to a better life as well.”

To mark World Toilet Day this year, WaterAid India advocates for the need of stringent measures to abolish all possible direct human interface with any faecal matter. We also need to explore and deploy technology-centred alternatives to reduce the risks associated with sanitation work.

To this end, WaterAid has released:

The hidden world of sanitation workers: A brief summary report explaining the current realities of sanitation workers with a deep dive using case studies from India, Tanzania, Burkina Faso and Bangladesh.
The hidden world of sanitation workers in India: A brief summary report explaining the current realities of sanitation workers in India.
Health, safety and dignity of sanitation workers: An extensive exploration to date on the plight of sanitation workers in the developing world. It is jointly authored by the International Labour Organisation, WaterAid, World Bank and World Health Organization.

^[1]Dalberg Associates. The Sanitation Workers Project. Available at: http://sanitationworkers.org/

ENDS

For more information, please contact:

Pragya Gupta, Media & Communications Coordinator,

PragyaGupta@wateraid.org +91-8130260865

Notes to Editors:

WaterAid India

WaterAid is an international not-for-profit, determined to make clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene normal for everyone, everywhere within a generation. Only by tackling these three essentials, in ways that last, can people change their lives for good. Working in India since 1986, WaterAid has successfully implemented water, sanitation, and hygiene projects, extending benefits to some of the poorest and most vulnerable communities. For more information, visit www.wateraidIndia.in, follow @WaterAidIndia on Twitter, or visit us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/WaterAidIndia.

Human rights

सफाईकर्मियों की अनदेखी दुनिया: वॉटरएड की नई रिपोर्ट जो सफाईकर्मियों के विकट हालात को बयां करती है

Pragya Gupta — Thu, 14 Nov 2019 05:06:48 +0000

सफाईकर्मियों की अनदेखी दुनिया: वॉटरएड की नई रिपोर्ट जो सफाईकर्मियों के विकट हालात को बयां करती है

14 November 2019

Human rights

WaterAid/ CS Sharada Prasad

भारत में लाखों सफाईकर्मी ऐसे हालात में काम करने के लिए मजबूर हैं जो उनकी सेहत और जिंदगी को खतरे में डालते हैं। यह दावा है इस विषय पर की गई अभी तक की सबसे व्यापक रिपोर्ट का जिसे आज जारी किया गया है।

एक अहम जनसेवा प्रदान करने के बावजूद ये सफाईकर्मी अक्सर समाज के आखिरी छोर पर, अलग-थलग खड़े मिलते हैं, जो अपना काम बिना किसी विशेष औजार, सुरक्षा या कानूनी अधिकार के करते हैं जो कि साफ तौर पर उनकी गरिमा और मानवाधिकार का उल्लंघन है।

यह रिपोर्ट विकासशील दुनिया में सफाईकर्मियों की दुर्दशा बताती अब तक की सबसे व्यापक पड़ताल है। इंटरनेशनल लेबर ऑरगेनाइज़ेशन (ILO), वॉटरएड, वर्ल्ड बैंक और वर्ल्ड हेल्थ ऑरगेनाइज़ेशन ने सफाई का काम करने वालों की इन अमानवीय हालात के प्रति जागरूकता फैलाने और बदलाव लाने के लिए इस रिपोर्ट को मिलकर तैयार किया है।

सफाईकर्मी, वो पुरुष और औरत हैं जो स्वच्छता की उस लंबी कड़ी में काम करते हैं जो हमारे शौचालय जाने से शुरू होकर अवशेष के निपटान और उसके पुन:प्रयोग पर जाकर खत्म होती है। समाज के इतने अहम काम का हिस्सा होने के बावजूद इन सफाईकर्मियों और इनके काम को अनदेखा और गैर जरूरी समझा जाता रहा है। इनके काम में सिर्फ शौचालय और सार्वजनिक जगहों को साफ करना ही नहीं, अवशेष को अलग-अलग करना, टॉयलेट के गड्ढों और सेप्टिक टैंक को खाली करना, नाले और गटर का रख-रखाव, पंपिंग स्टेशन और ट्रीटमेंट प्लांट का संचालन शामिल है।

2018 में डैलबर्ग एसोसिएट्स ¹ के किए गए शोध के मुताबिक भारत के विभिन्न शहरी इलाकों में 50 लाख सफाईकर्मी काम करते हैं। इन्हें स्वच्छता मूल्य श्रंखला में मोटे तौर पर नौ श्रेणियों में बांटा गया है जिसमें नाले की सफाई, लैट्रीन सफाई, मैला ढोना, रेलवे की सफाई, वेस्ट ट्रीटमेंट प्लांट में काम करना, सामुदायिक और सार्वजनिक शौचालय सफाई, स्कूल के शौचालय की सफाई, झाड़ू लगाना तथा घरेलू काम शामिल है।

ये सफाईकर्मी बिना किसी सुरक्षा या औज़ार के काम करने के कारण अक्सर मानव अवशेष या मानव मल से सीधे संपर्क में आते हैं जिसकी वजह से इन्हें सेहत संबंधित खतरे और कई तरह की गंभीर बीमारियों का सामना करना पड़ता है।

सेप्टिक टैंक और नाले में मिलने वाली जहरीली गैस जैसे अमोनिया, कार्बन मोनोऑक्साइड और सल्फर डायॉक्साइड की वजह से कर्मचारी बेहोश हो सकते हैं या उनकी मौत भी हो सकती है। अनुमान है कि भारत में हर पांच दिन में तीन सफाईकर्मियों की मौत होती है। अनगिनत सफाईकर्मी लगातार गंभीर चोट, इन्फेक्शन का शिकार होते हैं और इस काम से जुड़े रोजमर्रा के खतरे की वजह से इनका जीवनकाल कम हो जाता है। सफाईकर्मी के परिवार के सदस्यों को भी काम से जुड़ी वर्जना और सदस्य की मौत या सेहत पर पड़ने वाले असर की वजह से संघर्ष का सामना करना पड़ता है।

मीनादेवी, 58, बिहार के देहरी आन सोन में सूखे लैट्रीन साफ करती हैं। उनकी सास की भी यही काम करते हुए मौत हो गई। मीना कहती हैं –

“शुरू में मुझे उलटी जैसा लगता था। मुझे इस काम को करने में शर्म आती थी क्योंकि इसके बारे में लोगों की सोच अच्छी नहीं है। लेकिन अब मुझे ऐसी बदबुओं की आदत है। बात गरीबी की नहीं है, गरीब तो और भी होते हैं, हम तो कमा रहे हैं, लेकिन हमको इतना भेदभाव झेलना पडता है कि बता नही सकते हैं, लेकिन यही रोजी रोटी है तो करना तो पड़ेगा ना ? हमें कोई दूसरा काम दे दो, हम इस काम को तुरंत छोड़ देंगे।”

रमन वीआर, वॉटरएड इंडिया के ‘हेड ऑफ पॉलिसी ‘, कहते हैं -

'सफाईकर्मी समाज के लिए सबसे अहम जनसेवा करते हैं लेकिन इसके बावजूद वह ऐसे हालात में काम करने के लिए मजबूर हैं जिससे उनकी सेहत, जिंदगी और सम्मान सब कुछ खतरे में है। कड़वा सच तो ये है कि आज भी सदियों पुराने जातिवाद का ढांचा ही इन कर्मचारियों की किस्मत को तय करता है। यही वजह है कि भारत में जाति प्रथा के आखिरी स्तर पर खड़े ये समुदाय ही ये काम करने के लिए बाध्य हैं जो न सिर्फ खतरनाक और समाज की नज़र में वर्जित हैं बल्कि इस काम के लिए दी जाने वाली रकम उचित से बहुत कम है। सरकार को अलग अलग स्तर पर नए तरीकों और सहायक तकनीक को काम पर लाना होगा ताकि शहरी और ग्रामीण इलाकों को साफ सुथरा रखा जा सके, और इस काम को करने वाले कर्मचारियों के सम्मान, सुरक्षा, स्वास्थ्य, गरीमा और बराबरी का ख्याल भी रखा जा सके। इस काम को करने वाले सफाईकर्मी और उनके परिवार को तकनीकी विकल्प को अपनाने और उसे संचालित करने में मदद करने से भी इनके जीवन को बेहतर बनाया जा सकता है।'

विश्व शौचालय दिवस पर इस साल वॉटरएड इंडिया, हर तरह के मल पदार्थ से इंसानों के सीधे संपर्क के खात्मे को लेकर कड़े कदम उठाए जाने की जरूरत की तरफदारी करता है। हमें तकनीक केंद्रित विकल्पों पर काम करने की भी जरूरत है ताकि सफाई संबंधित काम से जुड़े खतरों को कम किया जा सके।

इस उद्देश्य को हासिल करने के लिए वॉटरएड ने जारी की है –

सफाईकर्मियों की अनदेखी दुनिया – एक संक्षिप्त रिपोर्ट जो भारत, तनज़ानिया, बुरकिना फासो और बांग्लादेश की केस स्टडी की गहराई में उतरकर सफाईकर्मियों के मौजूदा हालात को समझाती है।

भारत में सफाईकर्मियों की अनदेखी दुनिया – एक संक्षिप्त रिपोर्ट जो भारत में सफाईकर्मियों के मौजूदा हालात को दिखाती है।

सफाईकर्मियों की सेहत, सुरक्षा और सम्मान – विकासशील देशों में सफाईकर्मियों के हालात की व्यापक पड़ताल। इसे इंटरनेशनल लेबर ऑरगेनाइज़ेशन, वॉटरएड, वर्ल्ड बैंक और वर्ल्ड हेल्थ ऑरगेनाइज़ेशन ने मिलकर तैयार किया है।

^[1]Dalberg Associates. The Sanitation Workers Project. Available at: http://sanitationworkers.org/

और अधिक जानकारी के लिए संपर्क करें –

प्रज्ञा गुप्ता, +91-8130260865 या PragyaGupta@wateraid.org

संपादक के लिए नोट

वॉटरएड

वॉटरएड, अंतरराष्ट्रीय, गैर लाभकारी संस्था है जो हर जगह और हर एक की पहुंच में साफ पानी, साफ शौचालय और स्वच्छता के लिए प्रतिबद्ध है। इन तीन जरूरी बातों पर टिकाऊ तरीके से ध्यान देने पर ही लोगों की जिंदगी बेहतर हो सकती है। 1986 से भारत में कार्यरत वॉटरएड ने पानी, सफाई और स्वच्छता की परियोजनाओं को सफलतापूर्वक लागू किया है जिसका फायदा भारत के 29 में से 13 राज्यों में गरीब और कमजोर समुदायों तक पहुंचा। अधिक जानकारी के लिए www.wateraidIndia.in, पर जाएं, ट्विटर पर @WaterAidIndia फॉलो करें या फेसबुक पर www.facebook.com/WaterAidIndia आएं।

Human rights

WaterAid and Twinings join forces for healthier, happier tea garden communities

WaterAid India — Tue, 20 Aug 2019 11:33:08 +0000

WaterAid and Twinings join forces for healthier, happier tea garden communities

Posted by

WaterAid India

20 August 2019

Partnership

WaterAid/ Abir Abdullah

The new partnership will provide these basic needs to communities and schools in all 30 villages across two tea estates in the Darjeeling District of West Bengal, India, over the next two years.

Funded by the £220,000 donation from Twinings, WaterAid will ensure all 30 villages have a well-maintained piped water supply system that protects the springs from contamination and provides clean, easily accessible water. They will also help build decent toilets and waste management systems, and run hygiene education in the villages and schools.

The partnership will particularly focus on the challenges faced by women, including menstrual hygiene management and promoting female empowerment. Without decent toilets, good menstrual hygiene knowledge or access to sanitary materials, women are at risk of infection and often miss out on money earning opportunities across the tea estates because many have to return home to change during their period.

WaterAid Chief Executive Tim Wainwright said:

“Access to water and sanitation is one of the most pressing challenges for tea workers and their families in Darjeeling, and we’re delighted to address this through our partnership with Twinings.

Improving access to clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene education will enable a better quality of life for the workers and their communities, with a reduced risk of waterborne disease and improved working conditions that allow women to manage their periods effectively.

We aim to establish effective and sustainable systems to ensure this partnership will have long-lasting effects for thousands of people. In addition to this, we will be working with Twinings to measure the economic benefits of improved access to clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene to encourage other companies and their supply chains that this is a worthy investment that not only improves people’s lives but that of the bottom line too.”

Twinings CEO Bob Tavener said:

When we fill the kettle to make a cup of tea, we take for granted the seemingly endless supply of safe, clean water that flows. But this is a privilege not available to millions of people in many parts of the world.

At Twinings, we are always working to understand the needs of people who live and work in tea-growing communities, and to find ways to improve conditions and livelihoods.

We are very pleased to be partnering with WaterAid, who have great expertise and experience in developing water and sanitation projects, for this initiative in Darjeeling, India.

Despite Darjeeling’s natural beauty, high rainfall and springs, fresh water is in short supply because the springs are not protected and are vulnerable to contamination. Diarrhoea and other waterborne diseases are common, often forcing people to miss school or work.

WaterAid has worked in similar communities in Bangladesh helping to transform the lives of tea workers. Women, such as 45-year old Bina Patrou, have benefitted hugely from access to clean water and private, decent toilets.

Bina said:

We used to have to walk more than half-an-hour each way to collect water from a well, in the rain and heat. Water for everything else came from the streams. People had to go to the toilet in the bushes and some went near the same streams. I used to miss days at work because of illness and so I wasn’t paid. My daughters suffered from diarrhoea and dysentery and I had to look after them when they were growing up. These pumps and latrines have made such a difference for us.

ENDS

For more information, please contact:
Our media team at Mediain@wateraid.org

WaterAid

WaterAid is an international not-for-profit, determined to make clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene normal for everyone, everywhere within a generation. Only by tackling these three essentials, in ways that last, can people change their lives for good. Working in India since 1986, WaterAid has successfully implemented water, sanitation, and hygiene projects, extending benefits to some of the poorest and most vulnerable communities. Do follow us @WaterAidIndia on Twitter, visit us on Facebook or LinkedIn.

Posted by

WaterAid India

Partnership

INCLUDING THE EXCLUDED: Unpacking Challenges and Framing Solutions for Manual Scavengers and Sanitation workers in India

Pragya Gupta — Fri, 28 Jun 2019 06:57:35 +0000

INCLUDING THE EXCLUDED: Unpacking Challenges and Framing Solutions for Manual Scavengers and Sanitation workers in India

28 June 2019

Human rights

WaterAid/ Srishti Bhardwaj

WaterAid India aims to build a shared understanding of the several challenges and crisis of health, safety, dignity and rehabilitation faced by manual scavengers and sanitation workers in India.

India has taken significant strides to improve access to sanitation, particularly through the Swachh Bharat Mission. However, critical stakeholders engaged in sanitation work still face numerous challenges around safety, health, dignity, and rehabilitation. Despite the enactment of The Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013 (PEMSR 2013) in India, and efforts to eradicate these practices and to rehabilitate workers involved in it, the inhuman practices of engaging workers as manual scavengers continues.

The Socio Economic Caste Census of India 2011 had identified 1.82 lakh manual scavengers across the country. In 2018, an inter-ministerial task force found that there are over 53,000 people practicing manual scavenging, in just 121 out of over 600 districts in the country. Deaths of people engaged in manual scavenging/ sanitation workers continue unabated – in sewers and while cleaning septic tanks.

In this context, WaterAid India, supported by the European Commission – European Instrument of Democracy and Human Rights (EC-EIDHR), and in partnership with Association of Rural and Urban Needy (ARUN) and Centre for Equity Studies (CES), is implementing a three-year (2018-21) project on ‘Strengthening rule of law to advance rights and freedoms of Manual Scavengers in India’. The project aims to study issues around implementation of PEMSR 2013 and demonstrate possible community based and systemic measures to strengthen the implementation of the act.

The project involved a baseline study to understand the situation of manual scavengers, with a focus on women manual scavengers, in 36 urban locations across Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, and an implementation analysis of the PEMSR 2013 Act. Based on these learnings, the project will now focus on engaging with government and other actors for strengthening the implementation of the Act and on community level initiatives led by the women manual scavengers and their families, for improving the life conditions of these workers.

As part of this process, WaterAid India organised a consultation ‘INCLUDING THE EXCLUDED: Unpacking Challenges and Framing Solutions for Manual Scavengers and Sanitation workers in India’ on 28 June 2019. Participants from civil society, multi-lateral institutions, research institutions and individuals came together to propose the following recommendations:

Any direct contact between human and faecal matter should be abolished by law
Rehabilitation of the manual scavenging community in order to pull out one generation from this inhuman practice and ensure them the best possible education that can act as an enabling factor for alternate livelihood options
Revise the building bye-laws in a way that buildings of a particular size should have mandatory decentralised wastewater management systems
Identification and mapping of different forms of sanitation work and workers and incentivising officials for doing this while making them culpable if they fail to do so
Exploring technology-centred alternatives to reduce the risks of sanitation work
Ensuring social security provisions like pensions for sanitation workers, especially female manual scavengers – not as an entrepreneurial support but as a regular income
Need to build public consciousness around the issue of manual scavenging and rights of sanitation workers

Shri Rajendra Pal Gautam, the Minister for Social Welfare, SC & ST, Gurudwara Elections, Water, and Registrar of Cooperative Societies, Government of NCT of Delhi said:

Not one year has passed by where death incidents of manual scavengers has not been reported but municipals bodies still report absence of manual scavenging. Delhi government is open to exploring and investing in technology options that can prevent this inhuman practice.

Harsh Mander, Centre for Equity Studies, while discussing law, governance and inclusion said:

Law, budget and conversation exists around manual scavenging but the practice still continues reflecting how deeply embedded is the idea of caste in our society. Newer challenges are emerging as we are modernising our cities but the paradox is that we are still not bothered what happens once we flush our toilets, where does the faecal waste go and who cleans it ultimately – such is our cultural comfort that the feeling that they could be our brothers and sisters is terribly missing.

Bezwada Wilson, Safai Karamchari Andolan, while discussing solutions and way forward said:

After 35 years of raising this issue, the responsibility for solutions to manual scavenging still falls back upon the community which is not acceptable. What is the point of having such a skilful scientific community, bureaucracy and leadership if this pathetic situation of such a vulnerable community could not be addressed. Technology alone cannot be a solution. Solutions also need to be human-centred.

Raman VR, Head of Policy at WaterAid India said:

WaterAid India firmly believes that the inhuman practice of manual scavenging, which is banned by the law in the country, should be eradicated by all means through joint efforts of the administration and civil society. The workers engaged in this work should be properly identified, supported and rehabilitated in a dignified manner. Governments at different levels should identify and deploy new and improved measures and assistive technologies for ensuring sanitation and cleanliness in our urban and rural areas, ensuring decent work, safety, health, dignity and equity of the workers involved. This issue needs to be seen in relation to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as the achievement of SDGs will not be possible without addressing the issue of proper sanitation, as well as decent work, rights, equality and justice of these workers. We are committed to this important cause and will provide all possible support for governments and other actors towards fulfilling this. To this end, WaterAid along with its partners will take up this issue at the High Level Political Forum on SDGs, to develop a greater understanding and commitment towards the issue.

Documenting the life of manual scavengers and sanitation workers in India for about two decades, Photojournalist and Padma Shri awardee Sudharak Olwe travelled across Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh to bring forward visual narratives of the complexity of this problem with a focus on women manual scavengers.

Sudharak Olwe while speaking about his experience documenting their life said:

Countries like Sweden and Netherlands have invested on this issue sufficiently and upheld the human dignity and safety issues to the height possible. However, I found no substantial change in the working methods of manual scavengers and sanitation workers in our country despite the overall technological advancements in the last 20 years while documenting their lives.

INCLUDING THE EXCLUDED: Unpacking Challenges and Framing Solutions for Manual Scavengers and Sanitation Workers in India exhibits visual narratives captured by him showing the reality regarding their safety, health, dignity, and rehabilitation. The week-long exhibition is on till 4 July 2019 at Open Palm Court Gallery, India Habitat Centre.

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