Background:

It is obvious that Nepal has made a progressive move from the International Drinking Water and
Sanitation Decade (1981-1990) followed by two important milestones--Millennium Development Goal
(MDG) era (1991-2015) and SDG era (2016-2030). The landmark achievement on declaring Nepal as
ODF nation and a move towards total sanitation to achieve the SDG (SDG 6) substantiates that Nepal is
firmly committed towards fulfilling global agenda through national initiatives. This declaration made on 30
September 2019 in the presence of representatives of the three tires of the government and stakeholders
has created an enabling environment for localizing the SDG 6.

Nepal could achieve important milestone of ODF through enforcement of the Sanitation and Hygiene
Master Plan 2011(hereinafter referred to as the Master Plan). The Master Plan which has largely
contributed to resolve several challenges and anomalies in planning, financing and promotional actions
perpetuating for years. For this, it has institutionalized cross-sector institutional arrangements in national
and sub-national levels, integrated stakeholders’ fragmented efforts, strengthened cross-sector
collaboration, maintained uniformity and standard in planning, programming and financing, enabled
optimum mobilization of local resources and strengthened the grass-root level institutions to own and run
nation-wide ODF campaign.

The district and local level strategic plan and plan of action on ODF are key instruments that were
massively used to ensure district and local level ODF targets and thereby achieve ODF Nepal through
basket planning, resource pooling and collaborative action. The Master Plan has effectively harmonized
the school, water supply and sanitation projects, community and sectoral level activities that produced
synergy to accelerate country-wide ODF campaign. The Master Plan has unified efforts of various sector
stakeholders to achieve ODF status in communities in the same manner as a hydro power plant produces
electricity through collection of water from different sources (Adhikari 2015). Hence, ODF Nepal resulted
due to cumulative impacts of the promotional actions on sanitation and hygiene nurtured in the IDWSSD
as well as the MDG and SDG eras.

In the SDG era, Nepal’s WASH sector has been endowed with two important policy initiatives: Nepal
Sustainable Development Goal Status and Road Map (2016-2030) and Nepal Water, Sanitation and
Hygiene Sector Development Plan (2016-2030) formulated by National Planning Commission (NPC) and
Ministry of Water Supply (MoWS) respectively. The former document provides overall country framework
for the SDG 6 while the later aims to promote the WASH sector following the fundamental spirit of the
SDG 6. Hence, the plan and road map will largely contribute to promote WASH as outlined by the WASH
sector and cross-sector policies, plans and legislations and to ensure the fundamental right of the citizen
to have access to drinking water supply and sanitation as enshrined in the Constitution of Nepal.

Concept:

This paper highlights the nexus of ODF, total sanitation and SDG 6.2. This nexus has been assessed by
reviewing WASH and cross-sector policies, plans and study documents as well as the government and
stakeholders run field level activities. Basically, the paper covers conceptual and programmatic aspects of
ODF, total sanitation and the SDG 6.2 including some practical recommendations. There is an
inseparable linkage among these concepts.

Open defecation means defecating in the open and leaving the stuff (excreta) exposed off (Kar and
Chamber 2008) while ODF denotes a condition when there is no practice of open defecation in any open
place for ever. The Master Plan qualifies a place as an ODF zone if there is no open defecation in the
designated area at any given time, all households have access to improved sanitation facilities (toilets)
with full use, operation and maintenance; and all schools, institutions or offices within the designated
areas have toilet facilities (GoN 2011). The hand washing with soap at critical time is recognized as an
integral part of ODF status. For ODF declaration, the Master Plan has promoted the toilet with permanent
structure (e.g. twin pit toilet, eco-san toilet, etc.) in order for safe management of human excreta. The
communities in Nepal have opted such toilets from aesthetic, safety and durability perspective.
Similarly, total sanitation aims to end open defecation as the first significant step and its second step
includes all arrangements leading to sustainable hygiene and sanitation behaviors. In Nepal, total
sanitation intervention has been recognized for gradual upgradation and improvement of facilities,
services and behaviors. The Total Sanitation Guidelines 2017 has envisioned two stages of sanitation
and hygiene such as ‘clean and hygienic zone’ and ‘total sanitation-oriented zone’. The guideline aims to
ensure these stages to achieve total sanitation with a vision ‘sanitation for all and forever by 2030 (MoWS
2017). This vision is aligned with the SDG 6.

The SDG 6 covers promotion of clean water and sanitation. It aims to ensure availability and sustainable
management of water and sanitation for all. The SDG target 6.2 focuses on adequate and equitable
sanitation and hygiene for all and end open defecation, paying special attention to the needs of women
and girls and those in vulnerable situations by 2030. And, the SDG target 6.2.1 emphasizes on safely
managed sanitation services including a hand-washing facility with soap and water. The safely managed
sanitation is defined as the use of an improved sanitation facility which is not shared with other
households and where excreta is safely disposed in situ or excreta is transported and treated off-site. The
Joint Monitoring Program (JMP) global monitoring ladder for sanitation defines safely managed services
as private improved facility where faecal wastes are safely disposed on site or transported and treated off-
site; plus a handwashing facility with soap and water
(http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/monitoring/coverage/explanato accessed on 15 February
2020). So, safely managed sanitation system that hygienically separates human excreta from human
contact is essential for the SDG target 6.2 aligned total sanitation.

Linkage:

The popular theme titled sanitation for ‘health, dignity and development’ has significantly powered Nepal’s
ODF campaign enabling active engagement of people from all segments of society. As a result, the
Master Plan has successfully promoted inclusive sanitation social campaign in Nepal. This inclusive
campaign has promoted universal access to users-friendly sanitation facilities in households, schools and
institutions prioritizing issues of gender and people with disabilities. Similarly, the Master Plan has
institutionalized local leadership, participatory planning, locally managed pro-poor financing, informed
choice of household toilet technologies and joint-monitoring. Importantly, it has promoted cross-sector
collaboration for synergy and impact at scale. The Master Plan has prepared a robust foundation to
sustain ODF status and move towards total sanitation.

Here, total sanitation stands as a composite package of planning, facilities and behaviors. It aims to
sustain ODF and achieve environmental sanitation. WASH plan and management, proper use of toilet,
personal hygiene, access to safe water and use, use of safe food, clean home and institutions and
environmental sanitation including menstrual hygiene management, solid and liquid waste management,
cleanliness of water bodies and promotion of greenery are indicators of total sanitation. Total sanitation
has thus widened the horizon of the concept of sanitation from ‘toilet and ODF’ to ‘environment-friendly
and sustainable sanitation’. Likewise, the prime focus of the SDG target 6.2 is that sanitation facilities
should be safe, easily accessible to all, available everywhere, suitable for all (men, women, girls and boys
of all groups and people, people of different age groups and people with disabilities); and there should be
prime consideration of equity and people in vulnerable situation. Therefore, the SDG target 6.2 aims to
ensure overall SDG vision of ‘Leaving No One Behind (LNOB)’.

This analysis shows that ODF stands as a gate way to total sanitation that works as an important
instrument to achieve the SDG 6 in general and the SDG target 6.2 in particular. Further, total sanitation
directly contributes to maintain water safety and food safety as well. Maintaining sustainability of ODF
status and accomplishment of total sanitation indicators will inevitably pave the firm foundation for
achieving the SDG target 6.2 in equitable, gender sensitive, environment-friendly and sustainable
manner. These mutually interrelated concepts (ODF, total sanitation and SDG 6.2), therefore, seem to
reciprocally contribute to each other. Hence, it is inevitable to promote ODF, total sanitation and the SDG
target 6.2 in a broad continuum leading to the SDG 6.

Achievements:
The Table.1 shows overall achievements in access to water supply and sanitation till the SDG era. It
should be noted that the trend of sanitation promotion is unique in Nepal. Overall national coverage of
sanitation was just 2 percent in 1980. Despite stakeholders’ persistent efforts of three decades, sanitation
coverage was about 43 percent until 2011. But after just seven years of the implementation of the Master
Plan, additional 57 percent coverage of sanitation could be achieved. The country could achieve 100
percent coverage and ODF status till 2019.

Similarly, issues of quality, functionality, non-revenue water, climate change and disaster are widely
emphasized for maintaining sustainability of water supply and sanitation projects. The WASH sector
stakeholders have been scaling up Water Safety Plan (WSP) and begun to promote Sanitation Safety
Plan (SSP) in water supply and sanitation projects and waste water systems respectively. The overall aim
of WSP and SSP intervention is to ensure drinking water quality public and environmental sanitation.
Likewise, the WASH sector has recognized Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) aspects to
promote equity and inclusive sector governance. Hence; extra efforts, adequate financing, strengthened
institutional arrangement, competitive human resources, appropriate technologies, effective
benchmarking of water supply and sanitation services and quality control mechanism are essential to
achieve the country target of the SDG 6 within 2030.

Table.1: Achievements in Water Supply and Sanitation

SN Water Supply and Sanitation Indicators SDG 15th Plan Overall
Target Target Achievements
A. Access to Water Supply
1. Basic level 100 % 100 % 89%
2. Medium and higher-level 90% 40% 21%
B. Access to Sanitation
1. Basic sanitation 100% 100% 100%
2. Sewerage with treatment facilities 50% 20% NA
Source: Nepal SDG Status and Road Map (2016-2030), 15th Plan and NSHCC Secretariat 2019

Challenges:

The WASH sector policies in Nepal have recognized the SDG 6. However, the sector activities are not
adequately aligned with it. The three tires of the government lack strategic and practical outlook about
WASH intervention from the SDG 6 perspective. There is also lack of the SDG 6 dedicated unit at lead
agencies of the WASH sector--MoWS and Department of Water Supply and Sewerage Management
(DWSSM). This situation has weakened convergence and harmonization of the WASH sector activities,
sector monitoring and information management from the SDG 6 perspective. In other words, the WASH
sector visibly lacks country level data base to monitor progress of the SDG 6. Many stakeholders are not
yet clear about monitoring and reporting in this line. It has thus hampered to track the unreached
population and ensure LNOB--the fundamental spirit of the SDG.

Likewise, the SDG road map of the NPC has not accounted important WASH issues. For example, it has
missed Arsenic contamination as a key indicator under the SDG target 6.2 though this stands as pressing
issue in the domain of drinking water quality and public health. The road map has not considered WASH
in schools and institutions as well. Although total sanitation intervention is recognized for meeting the
SDG 6 (especially the target 6.2), Total Sanitation Guidelines 2015 has not explicitly established safely
managed sanitation as the key indicator of total sanitation.

Around the later part of the MDG era, some of the innovations emerged in WASH and other sectors at
policy and operational levels. These are EFLG (Environment Friendly Local Governance), IRFFSM
(Institutional and Regulatory Framework for Fecal Sludge Management), SWASTHA (Strengthening
Water Air Sanitation and Hygiene Treasuring Health), TBC (Total Behavioral Change), 7FATs (7 Flags
Approach to Total Sanitation), CWIS (Citywide Inclusive Sanitation), CLUES (Community Led Urban
Environmental Sanitation), ‘Environment-friendly Wards’, SWC (Safe Water Community), ‘WASH
Planning, ‘Healthy Home’, ‘Clean Home’, ‘Healthy Community" and ‘Star Approach for WASH in School’.
It has been stated that these initiatives have had close linkage with the SDG 6. However, these are not
adequately aligned with it. So, state’s formal commitment to move towards ‘total sanitation’ for achieving
the SDG (SDG 6) that was made on the day of country ODF declaration by the Prime Minister of Nepal
has to be operationalized with some innovative outlook and pragmatic actions recognizing that ODF-Total
Sanitation-SDG 6.2 nexus is indispensable for sustaining overall WASH sector activities in environment-
friendly, equitable and sustainable manner.

Conclusion:

Nepal has made remarkable achievements in sanitation till the SDG era. The country ODF declaration
has contributed to fulfill the SDG target 6.2 along with total sanitation intervention. For effectively
localizing the SDG 6, timely approval and enforcement of the Nepal WASH Sector Development Plan
(2016-2030) with committed financing is inevitable. Similarly, reformation of existing cross-sector
institutions in national and sub-national level, formulation of tangible health-based and the SDG target 6.2
aligned indicators of total sanitation, adoption of public-private-partnership approach for implementing
Institutional and Regulatory Framework for Fecal Sludge Management and timely enforcement of the
Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation Act are some of the urgent actions. On top of that, institutional
strengthening of the provincial and local governments and establishment of their commitment and priority
on WASH in general and the SDG target 6.2 in particular are the issues of great concern.

The over-arching goal of the 15 th plan envisages to achieve the living standards of Nepalese and to
prepare for the state’s move towards ‘prosperous Nepal, happy Nepali’. For this, the role of the WASH
sector is noteworthy. It is because the country’s WASH sector has envisioned to improve public health
and living standard of people through safe, sufficient, accessible, acceptable, and affordable water,
sanitation and hygiene services--any time, everyone and everywhere. The effective alignment of the
WASH sector activities with the SDG 6 will thus nurture the ‘game changer perspectives’ for both ‘quality’
and ‘safety’ of drinking water supply as well as safely managed sanitation. Importantly, alignment of
Nepal’s WASH sector activities with the SDG 6 will enable to fulfil national aspiration and the global
commitments.

Recommendations:

The following recommendations have been forwarded to align the WASH sector activities of the country
with the SDG 6 in general and the SDG targets 6.1, 6.2 and 6.3 in particular. These recommendations
have accounted country’s WASH sector vision and emerging sectoral challenges as well as opportunities:

 Recognize the continuum of ODF-Total Sanitation-SDG 6.2 nexus as the guiding strategy for all
types of sanitation and hygiene interventions for rural and urban areas of the country.
 Timely approve and enforce Nepal WASH Sector Development Plan (2016-2030) for effective
localization of the SDG 6 and meeting its targets.
 Establish the SDG 6 dedicated operational unit at DWSSM to work as technical wing of the
MoWS and DWSSM in overall SDG 6 related promotional actions in federal, provincial and local
level.
 Revise/update the WASH sector policies, plans, guidelines, standards, manuals and promotional
materials from the SDG 6 perspectives.
 Formulate Total Sanitation Master Plan giving prime focus on the SDG target 6.2, setting
milestones for total sanitation, indicating prerequisites of total sanitation interventions and
defining clear monitoring, verification, declaration and certification protocol.
 Revise existing indicators of total sanitation considering health-based targets and the SDG
targets 6.1, 6.2 and 6.3 recognizing safely managed sanitation as a key indicator of total
sanitation.
 Conduct the SDG 6 related advocacy, awareness and capacity development activities in national
and sub-national levels.
  Promote collection, processing and validation of the overall WASH sector database considering
the SDG 6 (targets 6.1, 6.2 and 6.3), JMP (Joint Monitoring Program) and GLAAS (Global Annual
Assessment of Sanitation and Drinking Water).
 Make the WASH sector information and database management system compatible with the SDG
targets 6.1, 6.2 and 6.3 to ease tracking and global reporting.
 Align Rural Municipality and Municipality level WASH Plan with total sanitation and the SDG 6 in
general and the SDG target 6.1, 6.2 and 6.3 in particular.
 Undertake research and piloting in the WASH sector considering the SDG 6.
 Promote climate change and disaster resilient WASH facilities in public places like schools, health
care facilities, highways, religious sites, tourist centers and slum areas.
 Scale up WSP to upgrade drinking water quality and promote SSP as a key instrument for
maintaining safety of waste water systems.
 Promote equity in the WASH sector by conducting GESI Audit and similar innovative actions in
WASH projects and programs in line with the spirit of the SDG 6.
 Scale up total sanitation as a part of ‘sanitation tourism’ considering national mission of tourism
promotion (i.e. Visit Nepal 2020). Sanitation tourism denotes a situation in which people visit
special model places on sanitation to entertain their cleanliness and beauty (Adhikari 2017).

References:

 Adhikari Kamal, Post-2017 Vision for Sustainable Sanitation and Hygiene Intervention in Nepal,
Technical Journal of Water, Sanitation, Health and Environment Published by Society of Public
Health Engineers Nepal, 2015.
 Adhikari Kamal, Sanitation in Nepal: Past, Present and Future, Kunti Bhumi memorial Trust, 2015
 Government of Nepal, Sanitation and Hygiene Master Plan, 2011.
 http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/monitoring/coverage/explanato accessed on 15
February 2020).
 Kar Kamal and Chambers Robert, Handbook on Community-Led Total Sanitation, Plan UK and
Institute of Development Studies, UK, 2008
 Law Book Management Committee, Constitution of Nepal (2072 BS).
 Ministry of Water Supply and Sanitation, Total Sanitation Guidelines, 2015.
 National Planning Commission, Nepal Sustainable Development Goal Status and Road Map
(2016-2030), 2016