Challenges and lessons learned in increasing access to safe drinking water in schools in India Navneet Garg, Vestergaard

Transcription

1 Challenges and lessons learned in increasing access to safe drinking water in schools in India Navneet Garg, Vestergaard

2 The Challenges

3 Poor Infrastructure in Rural India 70% of India s population lives in rural areas (83.3 crore Indians) Only 27% of village schools in India have electricity 1 Only 35% of rural India has piped water system 2. Due to this, there is overextraction of groundwater Lack of sanitation has affected water quality in most areas (microbiological contamination) Rural schools and Anganwadis in India: 2,18,560 rural schools 13,18,912 anganwadis 1 UNESCO. A View Inside Primary Schools 2

4 India s Increasing Burden of Waterborne Disease 37.7 Million 1.5 Million 73 Million $600 Million 25% Indians are AFFECTED each year by waterborne diseases Indian CHILDREN DIE from DIARRHOEA each year Indian WORKING DAYS are LOST each year due to waterborne diseases is SPENT ANNUALLY due to lost production and medical treatment due to waterborne diseases of global JUVENILE DEATHS take place in India, which is home to over 240 million children

5 The Supreme Court Order Taking cognizance of the growing diarrhoeal disease burden in school children, the Supreme Court of India through its judgment dated October 3, 2012 directed the Centre and the State governments to ensure drinking water, separate toilets for boys and girls and teachers in every school. We are, inclined to dispose of this Writ Petition with a direction to all the States to give effect to the various directions already given by this Court like providing toilet facilities for boys and girls, drinking water facilities, sufficient class rooms, appointment of teachingand non teaching staff etc., if not already provided, within six months from today. We make it clear that these directions are applicable to all the schools, whether State owned or privately owned, aided or unaided, minority or non minority. As the writ petition is disposed of, no orders are required to be passed on applications for intervention and impleadment and the same are disposed of. The Supreme Court of India

6 The Indian Government Has Launched Various Programs Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan Under Ministry of Education Jalmani National Rural Health Mission Rajiv Gandhi National Drinking Water Mission The New Companies Act 2013 Ministry of Tribal Affairs Backward Region Grant Fund Ministry of Rural Development s Dept. of Drinking Water Supply Funding of INR 11,64.5 million Under Ministry of Health Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation Funding for : INR 85,000 Million Budget: INR Million (Top 100 Listed Companies) Improvement in the lives of primitive tribal groups Ashram Schools Eklavya Residential Model Schools Funds: INR Million in for 250 districts

7 The Gaps

8 Scattered Government Ministries & Departments Indian Government ministries/departments responsible for providing safe drinking water in schools and anganwadis Ministry of Education Gaps Gaps Ministry of Women & Child Development Public Health Engineering Dept. Dept. of Drinking Water Supply

9 Current Solutions are Not Working Incomplete installation of UV filter UV filter in nonworkable condition UV filter kept dismantled UV water storage tank being used for white wash purpose Non functional Ultra filter Aquaguard filter kept packed after 3 years of being supplied in a Meghalaya school

10 Reasons for the Gaps Tools Coordination Focus is on infrastructure (pipelines, ground water utilization using tube wells, bore wells, hand pumps) Inter ministerial coordination and collective roles and responsibilities not clearly defined Complex point of use purification tools that require regular maintenance and repeat intervention

11 Lessons Learned

12 The Right Tool Should Be Non electric Nonchemical based Long lasting Easy to use and maintain Scalable Highly effective against microbiological contaminants

13 LifeStraw Community QUALITY SUSTAINABILITY COVERAGE LifeStraw Community meets WHO "Highly protective criteria for microbiological performance of water treatment systems US EPA standards for drinking water quality All raw materials of LifeStraw Community meet US Food and Drug Administration regulations and standards LifeStraw Community has a capacity of 50 litres and can filter up to 100,000 liters of water, sufficient to serve large groups of children for several years Does not require any electrical power, batteries/replacement parts, running water/piped in water supply and lifetime indicator LifeStraw Community is easy to install and maintain Vestergaard can provide thousands of pieces in a short time; thus filling any coverage gaps at a rapid pace

14 Public Private Partnerships are Essential for Successful program Coordination Partnership between the public and private sectors is essential, in part because the private sector owns and operates approximately 85% of the nation's critical infrastructure, government agencies have access to critical information, and each controls research and development, and other resources that may be more effective if discussed and shared, as appropriate, in a partnership setting.

15 Patterns of Public Private Partnerships Corporate CSR funding Vestergaard technology provider Pattern 1 NGO implementing partner Government approving body

16 Patterns of Public Private Partnerships NGO funding Vestergaard technology provider Pattern 2 NGO implementer Government approving body

17 Patterns of Public Private Partnerships Corporate CSR funding Vestergaard technology provider Pattern 3 Corporate implementer Vestergaard maintenance & sustenance Government approving body

18 Vestergaard Partnerships on Ground Cyclone Phailin Response (Odisha) Cyclone Phailin Response (Odisha) Anganwadi (Odisha) Uttarakhand Flood Response Delhi Rural School