Resources / GSF in Nepal builds blocks towards improving sanitation for communities

The Global Sanitation Fund (GSF) programme in Nepal recently completed two capacity-building workshops in the far western districts of Bajura and Bardiya. The workshops were part of a concerted effort to collect critical baseline data to achieve improved water and sanitation community-level projects in Nepal.  

The intensive two-day capacity-building workshops kick-started the baseline survey, taking place in Gulariya and Martadi, headquarters of the Bardiya and Bajura districts. The workshop, targeted at specialist Data Collectors, attracted over 30 participants, with the notable participation of women from local communities.  Both events, which took place on 23-24 October, and 18-19 November respectively, are considered an important milestone for the implementation of the GSF program in Nepal, which seeks to ensure targeted areas become Open Defecation Free (ODF). 

Keynote speeches by high-level representatives from numerous district-level offices, including: Administrative, Public Health, Education and Women’s Development, pledged support towards the successful completion of the baseline survey.  This positively highlighted the overall optimism felt by stakeholders of the potentially wide-reaching benefits that can be delivered by GSF’s programme in Nepal. “The baseline data collection taken from local schools, institutions and communities, will ultimately contribute to strengthening district and municipality-level Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) strategies, as well as enhanced coordination, cooperation and ownership,” stated Oliver Jones, GSF Programme Officer at WSSCC.   

The baseline survey is a collaborative effort between UN-Habitat Nepal – the in-country Executing Agency, Development Resource Centre (DRC) and respective District and/or Municipality level Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene Committees. 

Initial activities will involve collecting, verifying and updating baseline information on sanitation and hygiene from select schools, institutions and communities from across the districts of Bajura and Bardiya (including Gulariya) and the Municipality of Tikapur Municipality from the district of Kailali.

A number of sessions to help sensitize participants on the importance of sanitation and hygiene were also undertaken to complement the workshop.The first phase of the baseline survey is to be completed within the second week of December 2011.