Community action for improved sanitationIn Nepal’s remote Karnali region, SNV is strengthening NGOs and local government to mobilise whole communities against poor, yet prevalent, sanitation practices such as open defecation. |  | + Challenge
The Karnali region in mountainous north-western Nepal is one of the most remote and impoverished areas of the country. A 2007 survey indicated that about 20 per cent of households in Karnali have access to a toilet, though in some areas the figure is as low as three per cent; most people practise open defecation. Unsurprisingly, more than 50 per cent of patients in Karnali’s hospitals are being treated for water-borne diseases.
The government and various NGOs have attempted to address poor sanitation through, for example, toilet construction schemes. But such initiatives do not, on their own, educate communities in remote areas about good sanitation practices or bring about positive behavioural change.
Few qualified agencies work in water and sanitation in remote districts; even local government officials in these areas lack specialist knowledge. Most international NGOs and donors in Nepal are based in the capital and provide financial, but not capacity, support to local NGOs.
+ What SNV did
Since 2008, SNV has been giving advisory support to the Karnali Integrated Rural Development and Research Centre (KIRDARC), an NGO, to enable it to provide services to local organisations. KIRDARC’s strength is its extensive reach in all five Karnali districts.
Through KIRDARC, SNV strengthens the capacity of local NGO staff, building their knowledge and skills in community-led sanitation and hygiene initiatives. To enable people with low levels of education to play an active role, SNV has helped local NGOs to introduce simplified information on, for example, the importance of hand washing and toilet use, to use with Karnali communities. SNV is not inventing new approaches, but tailoring national policy and good practice for hard-to-reach communities. The NGOs have targeted women and young people in particular as a means to influence whole communities.
Alongside this on-the-ground technical assistance, SNV has supported district committees in developing a database that enables users to analyse and update information easily. Improving sanitation practices relies on accurate data with which to identify, target and monitor progress. This also means that districts can create and update their own sanitation sector strategies.
+ Outcome
Over the last two years, women have played a leading role in promoting sanitation and mobilising communities. KIRDARC have trained around 30 women’s groups and water users’ committees to monitor against open defecation in 20 villages.
SNV advisors have supported all five district committees in updating their sanitation databases and developing formal sanitation strategies for achieving full sanitation coverage by 2017. The strategies combine increasing toilet coverage and the continued promotion of behavioural change.
The trained NGOs have facilitated 45 events on community-led sanitation approaches in 18 villages. They have organised cultural programmes to coincide with communities becoming open defecation free. These help publicise the achievement, motivate neighbouring communities, and disseminate information on sanitation to a wider audience in villages across the Karnali.
District committees have awarded certificates and prizes of over EUR 500 to water and sanitation users’ committees in two districts, Kalikot and Jumla, for declaring the first open defecation free communities at district level.
+ Impact
In 2009, with SNV’s advisory support, KIRDAC and the district development committees have brought about significant change in all five districts. More than 29 settlements have declared themselves open defecation free. This means that more than 18,000 people – around six per cent of Karnali’s total population – now benefit.
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