Marielle Snel

The sustainability and impact of school sanitation, water and hygiene education in southern India.

For at least 50 years ‘hygiene education’ or more currently ‘hygiene promotion’ campaigns in schools, along with ‘school sanitation’ have been an unquestioned ‘essential element’ of water and sanitation promotion. This study describes a set of findings and conclusions that call into question the ‘obvious logic’ of school hygiene and sanitation promotion as currently practised. The overwhelming majority of ‘trained’ pupils do not in fact wash their hands with soap after using the toilet and before eating (even though the importance of such practices is well established and has almost certainly been emphasized in hygiene classes) and open defecation still appears to be relatively widespread even in intervention schools. This research therefore presents important findings for water, sanitation and hygiene in general and in the schools sector.

Striking the balance: what is the role of the public sector in sanitation as a service and as a business?

With over 2 billion people lacking access to improved sanitation, governments, especially in developing countries, have an enormous challenge to roll out services, increase and correctly target investment and financing mechanisms, and to create opportunities for and manage service providers. Pockets of experience in countries throughout Africa and Asia show that the public and private sectors can partner to deliver affordable, sustainable, high-quality water and sanitation services, linked to the capacity and financial sustainability of providers and authorities (e.g. the existence of an enabling regulatory and institutional framework). Where public services do not reach the poorest, private providers, NGOs or CBOs have stepped into the gap, often without government knowledge or support. To coordinate, provide oversight, and fulfil their legislative mandate, governments need to create an accountable and enabling policy and regulatory environment for non-state entities that ensures they provide affordable ...

Integration of the formal and informal sector waste disposal in Hyderabad, India

Could integration provide a solution to waste management problems in the South? This case study highlights some of the potential benefits - and problems - with such a scheme.

Transgender-inclusive sanitation: insights from South Asia

This paper provides insights from initiatives to include transgender people in sanitation programming in South Asia. Three case studies of recent actions to make sanitation inclusive for transgender people (in India and Nepal) are presented, accompanied by reflections and recommendations to guide future practice. Practitioners are recommended to: engage with transgender people as partners at all stages of an initiative; recognize that the language of gender identity is not fixed, varying across cultures and between generations; and acknowledge that transgender people are not a single homogeneous group but rather have diverse identities, histories, and priorities. The case studies aim to raise awareness of the diversity of transgender identities, exploring the needs and aspirations of transgender women, transgender men, and third gender people in South Asia.

Access to water and sanitation among people with disabilities: results from cross-sectional surveys in Bangladesh, Cameroon, India and Malawi

Objectives To assess access to adequate water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) among people with disabilities at the household and individual level. Design Cross-sectional surveys. Setting Data were included from five district-level or regional-level surveys: two in Bangladesh (Bangladesh-1, Bangladesh-2), and one each in Cameroon, Malawi and India. Participants 99 252 participants were sampled across the datasets (range: 3567–75 767), including 2494 with disabilities (93–1374). Outcome Prevalence of access to WASH at household and individual level. Data analysis Age/sex disaggregated disability prevalence estimates were calculated accounting for survey design. The Unicef/WHO Joint Monitoring Programme definitions were used to classify facilities as improved/unimproved. Multivariable logistic regression was undertaken to compare between households with/without a person with a disability, and to identify predictors of access among people with disabilities. Results There were no differences in access to improved sanitation or water sources between households with/without members with disabilities across the datasets. In Bangladesh-2, households including a person with a disability were more likely to share facilities with other households (OR 1.3, 95% CI 1.1 to 1.5). Households with people with disabilities were more likely to spend >30 min (round-trip) collecting drinking water than households without in both Cameroon (OR 1.8, 95% CI 1.0 to 3.4) and India (OR 2.3, 95% CI 1.2 to 4.7). Within households, people with disabilities reported difficulties collecting water themselves (23%–80% unable to) and accessing the same sanitation facilities as other household members, particularly without coming into contact with faeces (up to 47% in Bangladesh-2). These difficulties were most marked for people with more severe impairments. Conclusions People with disabilities may not have poorer access to WASH at the household level, but may have poorer quality of access within their households. Further programmatic work is needed to ensure WASH facilities are inclusive of people with disabilities.

Challenges facing school sanitation and hygiene education from the perspective of the school teacher

In helping school children adopt good habits during their formative years, it is vital to first produce a healthy learning environment using the hardware and software resources to hand.