1. Equity in WASH in India
Arun Mudgerikar & Aidan Cronin
UNICEF
Asia Regional Sanitation and Hygiene Practitioners
Workshop
Dhaka, Bangladesh (31st January-2nd February, 2012)

2. Equity Profile in India
• Disparities in WASH exist
– across States, Castes, Religions, Rural-Urban, and Wealth
quintiles.
– within politically recognized excluded classes
– but the disparities among wealth quintiles are cross cutting
• These are reflected in WASH coverage in respective classifications
– Rural-urban gap reflects need for accelerating rural sanitation
– Definite linkage with poverty
– Household water connectivity (HH water connection) enables
sanitation
– Typical toilet designs (or any physical component) will have to
consistent with the existing household structures 2

3. Disparities in rural sanitation – NSS 2010
Scheduled Tribes Other Backward Castes
21.66
28.74
3.11
1.61
75.23 69.65
Scheduled Caste
Others
1.71
21.69
Open
defecation 43.36
Unimproved 52.31
sanitation
76.61
Improved
sanitation 4.33

4. Disparities in urban sanitation – NSS 2010
Scheduled Tribe Other Backward Castes
14.76
21.23 2.73
2.52
76.26 82.51
Scheduled Caste Others 4.12
3.03
22.95 2.51
Open
defecation
Unimproved
sanitation 74.01
93.37
Improved
sanitation

5. Disparities across States in urban water supply
– NSS 2010
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Tap Improved Source Other

6. Disparities across States in rural water supply –
NSS 2010
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Tap Improved Other

7. Disparities across wealth quintiles
Rural sanitation - JMP
Porrest 20%
100
80
60
40
Richest II Poorest 20%
20
0
IV Poorest 20% III Poorest 20%
Improved toilets 1995
Improved toilets 2008

8. Disparities across wealth quintiles
rural WS
Porrest 20%
100
80
60
40
Richest II Poorest 20%
20
0
IV Poorest 20% III Poorest 20%
Piped water on premises - 1995 Piped water on premises 2008
Other improved 1995 Other improved 2008

9. Disparities across wealth quintiles
Urban sanitation
Porrest 20%
100
80
60
40 II Poorest
Richest
20%
20
0
IV Poorest III Poorest
20% 20%
Improved toilets 1995 Improved toilets 2008

10. Distribution of population across States in
national wealth quintiles – NFHS 2005-06
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Poorest II Lowest Middle IV Quintile Richest

11. Proposed strategy for inclusive programming
• Inclusive Behaviour Change: All C4D activities in WASH include specific emphasis on reaching the
marginalised, social norm change can facilitate this
• Empowerment and Voice Strengthening: UNICEF build platforms with Govt, Civil Society, UN and
the other main WASH actors to unite for improved service provision to the marginalised of India.
• Knowledge Management: CEP first unpacks the issue of social exclusion and equity in the WASH
sector and then designs targeted programmatic interventions to tackle these and following this to
strengthen documentation of the process and impact on the marginalised.
• Service Delivery: The main service delivery point to be adopted by Government is that progress in
sanitation and water access to date is currently not reaching the poorest.
• Aaccountability and Institutional Strengthening: Capacity building will continue – at individual and
institutional level. Key experts on WASH and the excluded will be identified to build capacity into
program planners and implementers in Govt., civil society.
• Evidenced- based Policy Advocacy: Continue to promote the JMP methodology to highlight the
actual usage of defined levels of service provision across different strata of society but looking also
at other improved data sources with increased disaggregation possibilities (min to District level).
11

12. Some of the notable initiatives from
India
• Jharkhand: KAP findings study and GIS mapping of WASH among Adivasi groups.
• Madhya Prasesh: Impact of district communication plan and mass media
campaigns for excluded
• Uttar Pradesh: GIS mapping of 11,000 water points has been completed for all five
blocks of Chitrakoot and its scaled up to Lalitpur.
• West Bengal: Consultation on converging backward region grant funds to prioritize
neglected areas and partnership in Purulia district with women SHGs
• Orissa: Mapping of views on sanitation in Scheduled Tribes and designing an
inclusive communication strategy.
• Assam: WASH in Tea Gardens Initiative to reach socially excluded people in the
estates.
• Chhattisgarh: partnership with civil society to work with socially excluded primitive
tribes in civil strife affected areas.
• Gujarat: Innovative solutions for water supply were trialed in remote tribal areas.
• Bihar: Formative research for inclusive communication strategy development

13. Ways forward for for inclusive
programming
• Clear identification of social economic and other
classification
• Basic unit of effective coverage (like
individual, Household)
• Baselines of access and actual use
• Status of disparities & causal factors
• Monitoring and evaluation methodology
• Evidence based advocacy for policy and political
commitment
• Universal and/or targeted approaches

14. Thanks !