WASH Coalition

The Nepal WASH Coalition brings together a wide group of more than 60 stakeholders. Members include:

• Government - Department of Water Supply and Sanitation (DWSS)
• National NGOs - Nepal Red Cross Society (NRCS), NEWAH
• INGO – WaterAid Nepal
• UN agencies in Nepal - UNICEF, WHO
• Other partners such as FEDWASUN, RCNN, and Folk Artists

Focus

The main focus areas of WASH Nepal are coalition building and advocacy for sanitation, to increase public awareness as well as putting sanitation issues on the national political agenda. This should be achieved through:

Expanding the networks on national and local levels

Sharing knowledge and strengthening partnership with the media

Lobbying for increased attention and budget for sanitation issues on national level

Disseminating information materials elaborated for awareness creation

Milestone projects

Most activities by WASH Nepal were connected to lobbying the government, media collaboration and producing information and advocacy materials. Of the implemented activities 2006-2008 some highlights are listed below:

Coalition building and policy involvement

• Activities to expand and defining the WSSCC members at national level conducted
• Collection of civil society voices on the National Sanitation Master plan and SACOSAN III country paper hosted by coalition members in different parts of the country
• Interaction with parliamentarians to promote sanitation related issues in parliament for the budget speech
• In June 2007, forwarded an appeal letter to the Ministry of Finance (MOF), Ministry of Physical Planning and Works (MPPW) and National Planning Commission (NPC) by a group of national NGOs, INGO, and UN stakeholders in Nepal requesting for a separate sanitation budget line. Click here to read the letter.

Media collaboration

• Collaboration with the Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ) strengthened to promote increased attention on sanitation issues nationally and locally through analysis of media coverage, campaigning, interacting with editors and monitoring of reporting - frequency, quality, sensitivity and selection of issues.
• 'Meet the press' programmes organized to intensify partnership with the media, interact with them on sanitation issues, share findings of media monitoring especially to show how much of media focus is on sanitation and water.
• Nationwide media WASH award competition organised in 2006 and journalists awarded for best articles.
• TV documentary produced and aired on 'Sanitation - Our Issue' highlighting problems faced by women without access to sanitation and its effect on their daily lives on the National TV.
• 'Sanitation Model District Approach' programme adopting the School Led Total Sanitation (SLTS) to achieve total sanitation in Chitawan district by 2009 continues with the support of the government, WASH group members and other stakeholders. A model district coordinator is appointed to see to the coordination and monitoring of activities.
• On the occasion of World Toilet Day on 19 November 2007, organised a meeting around 'Sanitation for All in Nepal: Challenges and our Responsibilities'. More than 40 professionals attended the meeting which also attracted wide press coverage, as per this example from the Himalayan Times.

Information materials produced and disseminated

1. Advocacy materials - calendars, greeting cards, flipcharts and posters - produced and widely disseminated through partner organisations
2. Published four series of booklets on 'Browsing through the Newspapers'(English & Nepali) so far. It is a compilation of winning and interesting sanitation and water articles published in various newspapers during the media campaign every year.
3. WASH Newsletter 'Pani ra Sarsafai', a sector publication on sanitation and water issues continues.
4. Fourth WASH calendar published in March 2007 (for Nepali New Year) and distributed from the grassroots level to the members of parliament.
5. Booklet on Symposium on ‘Sanitation Approaches and Technologies in Practice in Nepal' - 2008 (Nepali)
6. Greeting card with hygiene and sanitation messages for the national celebration of Dashain and Tihar - 2008 (Nepali)
7. User friendly flip charts on sanitation, general health and hygiene, dignity, social inclusion & empowerment, lobbying & advocacy and water themes - 2008 (Nepali)
8. Sanitation posters for the Regional Workshop on Ecological Sanitation 2008 (Nepali and English)
9. Localized version of the 'Community Led Total Sanitation: A Facilitator's Handbook (Nepali)

Main achievements

• Increased coverage of sanitation issues in the media, monitoring the situation under critical observation by civil society
• Focus of journalists on issues of latrine usage and hand washing as well as on other social issues associated with sanitation and water. 
• Government has endorsed the Sanitation Model District Approach programme, a process initially initiated by the Nepal WASH group. 
• Sector stakeholders able to come together as a group to voice the need for a separate sanitation budget line with the government.
• Materials elaborated for awareness creating targeting the broad public, meeting the high demand for such products among NGO's.
• A stable, dynamic network which in particular articulates the needs as perceived by civil society.

 To see all the 2008 calendar cartoons please click here.