Towards disabled-friendly water solutions
Nepal, where one in six poor people suffer from some kind of impairment, has set a Millennium Development Target of achieving 100% sanitation coverage by 2017. However, this would remain incomplete without reaching out to the most vulnerable and marginalised sections of the population.
Creating user-friendly water and sanitation services for the disabled: the experience of WaterAid Nepal and its partners, a discussion paper by WaterAid outlines the problems faced by the disabled in the country in accessing water and sanitation services.
WaterAid Nepal has been working in this sector since 1987. It has included a gender and social inclusion approach in its programmes and projects.
Poverty and disability are intrinsically linked as poorest sections of society are more likely to have malnutrition, limited health services, sanitation and hygiene.
Lack of disability policies and poor financial status of the families are additional hurdles in meeting water and sanitation needs of the physically-impaired.
The paper studies the impact of this neglect on health, dignity, economic and social exclusion, especially of women and puts forward solutions addressing the needs of differently-abled people without access to water and sanitation.
Social stigma attached to disability deprives people from accessing public amenities. Lack of knowledge about disable-friendly water and sanitation infrastructure creates major hindrance for the physically impaired. For instance, in Nepal, paths are often slippery and narrow making it hard for people using wheelchair. Also, most schools do not have toilets that are friendly to the physically impaired.
The publication reveals that inappropriate facilities and lack of proper technology also adversely affects the financial gains and social progress of disabled.
While planning and designing user-friendly water and sanitation services, accessibility and safety are important concerns.
A little consideration while constructing services can have a huge impact on the lives of the disabled.
The paper recommends better policy coordination and collaboration in the sector to increase focus on and delivery of water and sanitation services to the disabled people.
Participation is a crucial aspect in ensuring that that services and technologies are appropriately designed to generate a feeling of ownership. Stakeholders including relevant government agencies, NGOs, disabled people’s organisations and interested civil society networks are called for addressing the issues outlined in this paper.
