COVID-19, handwashing and access to water

As the lockdown in Nepal is gradually eased, there has been a proportionate increase in COVID-19 cases. Preventive measures initially prescribed for COVID-19 assume greater importance now than ever before. Handwashing, a globally accepted key directive, needs reiteration. However, this simplistic prescription masks the complex socio-economic dynamics in accessing water for many communities.

In Nepal, water has a big role to play in the immediate control of and recovery from the impacts of COVID-19. However, in a country where only 25 per cent of water supply systems are fully functional, and 3.5 million people still do not have access to basic water services, practising the recommended frequent 20-second handwashing is difficult for many. Inequitable access to water, like other resources, is socio-economically driven – economically poor, historically discriminated and disadvantaged groups fare the worst.

Under a three-year research project funded by the Australian government’s Water for Women Fund, the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) is investigating how access to water is linked to wealth and power, particularly by examining gender and social dynamics in the functionality of water supply systems in Sarlahi (Tarai) and Dailekh (hill) districts. Our findings show that the two districts differ significantly in water access challenges because of the distinct nature of water sources and inherent contextual realities.

In Dailekh, where traditionally community-managed water sources for both domestic and productive uses were the norm, there has been an increasing trend of private connections to water sources among the wealthier households. Frequent disruptions in the water supply systems are forcing users to switch from community-managed sources to private lines. The government allows the use of water sources such as springs only through a registered community group. However, some households with wealth and influence have captured nearby water sources, restricting access to others. Even for well-functioning community water systems, social discrimination, limited affordability and difficulty in collecting tariffs make meeting the United Nations target to leave no one behind farfetched. For example, a woman from a migrant household, whose husband was away, was barred from using a water source that had been captured and controlled by the village elite.

In Sarlahi, the context is different. With groundwater as the primary source of water for domestic use, quality is a major concern. Safe drinking water can be accessed if drilled below 150 feet, but the hand pumps most households use are at less than the recommended depth. So the water supplied is laced with iron and arsenic. Safe water, therefore, continues to elude low income households that are compelled to depend on unsafe shallow hand pumps.

For many, especially low-income groups like the Mushahars, their inability to manage large water containers to store water at home means women are compelled to make many trips each day to fetch water, putting themselves at risk of infection by the virus when they have to use the common hand pumps.

These issues related to water and communities are not new, and many of these challenges associated with inclusive and universal access to water did not originate with the pandemic. COVID-19 has only exposed and brought to the forefront gaps in water access. These are not unidimensional issues – addressing them demands a multi-dimensional approach.

The question is, how do we do this? Further, how do we ensure safe handwashing as a basic need rather than a privilege in the larger Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) agenda and COVID-19 response? The answer is simple, but it requires a concerted effort and collaborative response from all three tiers of the government as well as non-government actors.

The response to the pandemic in most districts has been provisional at best. While the onslaught of the disease was sudden, by now, basics such as the inclusive guidelines and standard operational procedures (SOP) could have been circulated at least at the municipality level. SOPs and guidelines help to make operations efficient and socially inclusive.

Rural municipalities and ward offices, based at the local level, with contextual understanding of the local realities, are best suited to lead the response. They have the authority to set local priorities and allocate budget to address the WASH challenges different sections of the community face, including women, and vulnerable groups such as persons with disabilities, the elderly and the economically poor.

Moreover, local governments, with support from the provincial and federal governments, will be in a better position to increase investment in inclusive WASH, not just during pandemics, but for the long-term health and wellbeing of their constituents. To reduce haphazard and fragmented interventions, a mechanism to forge coordination between the government and non-government actors needs to be devised.

Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6, which is about ensuring access to water and sanitation for all, endorses a systemic approach to achieve the goal. WASH system strengthening is about improving the environment into which WASH services and behaviours are introduced to ensure they continue to deliver benefits to everyone in society long after implementation. For Nepal, this means working in a collaborative way, addressing inclusive WASH challenges, and especially focussing on vulnerabilities of certain sections of our society.

To conclude, the ramifications of COVID-19 on the water sector have brought to light long standing equity dimensions that affect the prescribed universal practice of frequent handwashing. There is an urgent need to unpack overly simplified solutions and come up with practical approaches for affordable, sustainable and inclusive WASH services.

 Raut and Rajouria are researchers at IWMI

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