WATER, SANITATION & HYGIENE (WASH)files.unicef.org/transparency/documents/NCO PSN WASH 21.06.2017.pdfUNICEF NEPAL COUNTRY OFFICE PROGRAMME STRATEGY NOTE 1 WATER, SANITATION & HYGIENE

UNICEF NEPAL COUNTRY OFFICE

PROGRAMME STRATEGY NOTE

1

WATER, SANITATION & HYGIENE (WASH)

1. Introduction

In the last 25 years, Nepal has made significant progress in expanding the coverage of improved

water supply, and in improving sanitation and hygiene practices. However, although 93 per cent of

households report using improved sources of drinking water, drinking water functionality and quality pose

serious challenges, the time to collect water from a tap-stand continues to be a burden for women and

girls1, the coverage of separate toilets in schools for girls with menstruation hygiene facilities is low, and

unsafe hygiene practices remain widespread.

WASH interventions are critical to achieving improved outcomes in other sectors such as health,

nutrition, education and child protection. Inadequate and poor WASH services lead to recurring diseases

such as diarrhoea and cholera while improved services help create a cleaner environment leading to the

prevention of undernutrition and stunting. Promoting inter-sectoral convergence with health and nutrition

will therefore be important. Similarly, continued collaboration with education is critical to improve

sanitation, water and washing facilities in schools, especially for adolescent girls (whose menstrual

hygiene needs are not properly met) and for children with disabilities (for whom lack adequate and

appropriate services is a bottleneck to schooling). In addition, continued collaboration with cross-sectoral

areas such as communication for development (C4D) and early childhood development (ECD) will also be

crucial. In particular, strengthening linkages with C4D will be critical to bring about changes in existing

socio-cultural behaviours and practices and introducing new social norms to promote safe hygienic

practices.

Water, sanitation and hygiene are priority areas under the Fourteenth National Development Plan

(2016-2019) and fundamental right under the constitution of Nepal. UNICEF s WASH programme will

support the national priorities set out in the government s plan, which are in line with the Sustainable

Development Goals (SDGs) in particular, SDG 6: ensure universal and equitable access to safe managed

sanitation services. The SDP, which is at the final stages of approval by the government, will be the guiding

document for UNICEF s contribution towards the availability and sustainable management of water and

sanitation for all.

UNICEF s WASH programme will work closely with the Ministry of Water Supply and Sanitation

(MoWSS) and the Department of Water Supply and Sewerage (DWSS) under the MoWSS. Other

governmental partners will include the Ministry of Health (MOH), Ministry of Education (MOE), Ministry of

Federal Affairs and Local Development and their relevant departments and line agencies at provincial and

local government (LG) levels. UNICEF will also continue its partnership with other key partners including

other United Nations agencies, multilateral partners, bilateral donors, international non-governmental

organizations (INGOs), academic/training institutions, community based organizations (CBOs) and the

private sector.

2. Prioritized issues and areas

Building on lessons learnt from UNICEF s past country cooperation, its comparative advantage and

after extensive consultations with national counterparts and other partners, the WASH programme will

focus on improving universal and equitable access to, and use of safe and sustainable drinking water (with

a focus on improving water quality and functionality of water schemes and on reaching the unreached

population), improving sanitation and hygiene practices (including improving WASH facilities in schools

1 Government of Nepal, National Planning Commission Secretariat, Central Bureau of Statistics and UNICEF. Nepal Multiple Indicator Survey, 2014



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and health care facilities) and supporting systems strengthening with emphasis on disaster risk reduction

as well as climate change. These proposed priorities are well in line with UNICEF s Global WASH Strategy

and will contribute to the achievement the SDGs as well as the results areas 4 under the UNICEF Strategic

Framework (2018-2022) ensuring that every child lives in a safe and clean environment. In addition these

priorities are also in line with the UNDAF (2018-2022) particularly concerning social inclusion which is well

embedded in sanitation social movement, the major thrust of the sanitation and hygiene interventions.

Accordingly, during the next country programme, UNICEF will work on the following priority areas:

Water supply

Sanitation and hygiene

Systems strengthening including for disaster risk reduction/climate change adaptation

2.1 Water Supply

Despite significant gains in national coverage for improved water supply (93 per cent of

households are using improved sources of drinking water)2, access (particularly among some unreached

population), water functionality and water quality continue to pose significant challenges. While the

coverage for urban water supply is high at 96 per cent3 but significant part of the urban areas are largely

semi-rural in nature with underdeveloped water supply and sanitation systems. Although only 7 per cent

of households, nationally, spent 30 minutes or longer fetching water, there is significant disparity by

region: for example, some 30 per cent of households in the mid-western hills and mountains, 29 per cent

in the far western hills and 19 per cent in the far western mountains spend more than 30 minutes

collecting water4. Inadequacy of water sources have health impacts on all household members as well as

an immense labour burden, particularly on women and girls (who are most often the responsible ones for

fetching water). Apart from access issues, drinking water functionality and quality remain priority

concerns. Only 25 per cent of the water supply systems are fully functioning and 40 per cent require either

major repairs or rehabilitation due to poor operations and maintenance as well as lack of governance and

because of recurring disasters while remaining 35 per cent require minor repairs5. The culture of raising

funds for operations and maintenance is virtually non-existent with only 4.5 per cent of water supply

schemes having mechanisms to generate funds6. Furthermore, while there is data available on access to

WASH services in schools and health facilities (for example, access to water supply in health facilities is 72

per cent in the hills and 94 per cent in the Terai), data on functionality of services is missing.

Water quality remains a priority concern given the vulnerability of existing systems to

contamination and poor water treatment practices. Seventy-one per cent of sources and 82 per cent of

household are contaminated (with E. coli), a major cause of diarrhoea 7. Similarly, water treatment

practices at household level remains low with only 14 per cent of household practising appropriate

household water treatment8. While contamination of water with E. coli is one of the major reasons for

poor water quality, there are also localized issues of chemical contamination such as arsenic. Continuous

monitoring, reporting and dissemination of information on water quality are important aspects of

ensuring water quality; however, despite the existence of the national drinking water quality standards

(which started in 2005), its implementation has been ineffective. Furthermore, the Water Quality

Surveillance Guidelines (2015), endorsed by the MOH is yet to be effectively implemented. In addition,

although there are policies for both rural (developed in 2004) and urban (developed in 2009) water

2 Government of Nepal, National Planning Commission Secretariat, Central Bureau of Statistics and UNICEF. Nepal Multiple Indicator Survey, 2014 3 Government of Nepal, National Planning Commission Secretariat, Central Bureau of Statistics and UNICEF. Nepal Multiple Indicator Survey, 2014 4 Government of Nepal, National Planning Commission Secretariat, Central Bureau of Statistics and UNICEF. Nepal Multiple Indicator Survey, 2014 5 Nepal Management Information Programme, 2014 6 Nepal Management Information Programme, 2014 7 Government of Nepal, National Planning Commission Secretariat, Central Bureau of Statistics and UNICEF. Nepal Multiple Indicator Survey, 2014 8 Nepal Management Information Programme



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supply, these need to be reviewed, especially with a view to make them compatible with the forthcoming

SDP and the SDGs.

2.2 Sanitation and Hygiene

Despite significant progress in improving overall sanitation in Nepal, achieving Open Defecation

Free (ODF) status (and sustaining it), and achieving total sanitation (hygienic use of the toilets; promotion

of hand washing at critical times; use of safe water options; use of hygienic food; ensuring toilets in

schools and health facilities and their hygienic use; and environmental sanitation including faecal sludge

management and liquid waste management (in both rural and urban)), continue to pose critical challenges

in Nepal.

Over the last five years, sanitation coverage has improved significantly from 62 per cent to 87 per

cent as a result of the ODF movement, although huge disparities remain in terms of coverage based on

ecological sub-regions. While sanitation coverage is 83 per cent in the mountains, and 96 per cent in the

hills, it is only 77 per cent in the Terai9. Similarly, there are huge differences with regards to ethnicity: 2

per cent of Newars practice OD as compared to 79 per cent of Terai Dalits (indicating that there is a high

prevalence of OD in the Terai and that the practice of OD is more prevalent among the Dalits than other

castes)10. Similarly, there are disparities by wealth quintiles as well, with those in the middle wealth

quintile having the lowest access to improved sanitation facilities (41 per cent) as compared to 74 per cent

for the richest wealth quintile and 73 per cent for the poorest quintile11 indicating that income is not

always a determinant for improved sanitation and there are other equally important ones such as existing

social norms and socio-cultural practices.

Even though 14 million12 people are currently living in an ODF environment where every

household, school and government facility has a toilet, there continues to be challenges related to the

operation, maintenance and use of toilets. More work is thus needed to ensure that households have

separate toilets (along with the management of faeces when pits are filled up). Even when there are

toilets, people have to defecate in the open due to restrictions such as daughters-in-law not being allowed

to use the same toilets as fathers-in-law, a practice, prevalent in some communities in central Terai,

putting an extra burden of building additional toilets. In addition, the practice of chhaupadi (keeping

women separate and not allowing them to use existing toilets during menstruation) is as high as 62 per

cent 13 in some districts of the mid and far-western hills and mountains. Such existing practices pose a

challenge in terms of improving overall sanitation and hygiene (as well as putting girls and women at

increased health and protection risks) and efforts must be strengthened to change these norms and

practices.

While attaining and sustaining ODF is an important component of achieving total sanitation, total

sanitation is much broader and includes safe disposal of faeces and faecal sludge management, use of safe

water, improved hygienic practices and the like. Currently, the government is in the process of finalizing

the total sanitation guidelines and support will be needed to implement these, mobilize resources,

develop capacity and monitor progress. Achieving total sanitation will be particularly challenging in urban

areas and slums (with urbanization being an important and rapidly emerging reality) due to the complexity

of the issues related to faecal sludge management, waste disposal and water quality. However, UNICEF

focus will be on ending open defecation.

9 Department of Water Supply and Sewerage Annual Report, 2016 10 Government of Nepal, National Planning Commission Secretariat, Central Bureau of Statistics and UNICEF. Nepal Multiple Indicator Survey, 2014 11 Government of Nepal, National Planning Commission Secretariat, Central Bureau of Statistics and UNICEF. Nepal Multiple Indicator Survey, 2014 12 One WASH Report, UNICEF, 2015 13 Bottleneck Analysis Report, 2013



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Every year 1,650 children under five die in Nepal from diarrhoea which is caused by unsafe water

and poor sanitation14. The simple act of washing hands with soap and water at critical times can reduce

diarrhoea by one third15 and yet, only 73 per cent of households have a specific place available for hand

washing with water and soap16 – the figure is lowest in the far western mountains (41 per cent) and

highest in eastern Terai (81 per cent) region. Similarly, handwashing with soap during critical times such as

before breast feeding or feeding a child and after changing nappies continues to be very low at 9 per

cent17. In addition, the practice of managing child faeces still remains inadequate with only 17 per cent of

children under two having their faeces disposed-of safely18. Unless knowledge and practices are improved,

there will be little improvement in health and nutrition outcomes for children and women. Even though water and sanitation coverage in schools has been improving, critical bottlenecks remain

particularly as they relate to girls and children with disabilities. While 80 per cent of the government

schools have water and sanitation facilities, 15 per cent of them lack separate toilets and menstruation

hygiene management (MHM) facilities for girls19. Children with disabilities also face similar bottlenecks

due to lack of and/or inadequate WASH facilities in schools.

82 per cent of health care facilities are reported to have water supply and toilet facilities, WASH in

health facilities remains a significant challenge due to inadequate coverage (access to toilets is 78 per cent

in the hills and 84 per cent in the mountains20) and poor hygienic use of existing toilets, leading to water

borne diseases and infections. While there is data available on access to services in schools and health

facilities, data on functionality of WASH services is missing. Thus, generating evidence on the functionality

of existing services as well as identifying critical gaps in the provision of WASH services in institutions such

as schools and health care facilities is crucial to improving services.

2.3 Systems Strengthening including DRR/CCA

During the last few years, Nepal has made considerable progress in strengthening the enabling

environment to improve WASH interventions. The government has drafted the WASH SDP which lays out

the aspirations for the WASH sector ( in the context of achieving the SDG goals) however the challenge lies

in its systematic implementation and regular monitoring within the context of the roll-out of the new

federal model. To this end, more needs to be done to strengthen WASH sector capacity (both in terms of

human and financial resources) along with improving coordination and management. Similarly, the

current and only monitoring system for the WASH sector at the national level is the National Management

Information Programme (NMIP) which needs to be strengthened. While originally intended to produce a

comprehensive biennial sector status report, it currently covers access to water supply, functionality of

water and access to sanitation and does not include other important aspects like water quality, urban

WASH, hygiene, and report on damages after natural disasters, and is often not completed on time.

Similarly, Nepal is highly prone to disasters and the effects of climate change which affect everyone but

they have the biggest impact on the poor and marginalized people, women and girls. Most rural water

supplies in hill districts depend on small surface and shallow sources which are vulnerable to climate and

human influences. Climate related changes in rainfall, draining of water sources as well as ground water

quality will have a direct impact on the health and wellbeing of children, human settlements with poor or

non-existing sanitation can also contaminate water supply catchments21. Nepal is amongst the top five

14 World Health Organization, 2015; Nepal Demographic and Health Survey, 2011 15 UN, (2005), Health, Dignity, and Development: What Will It Take? United Nations Millennium Project, Task force on water and sanitation 16 Government of Nepal, National Planning Commission Secretariat, Central Bureau of Statistics and UNICEF. Nepal Multiple Indicator Survey, 2014 17 UNICEF and University of Buffalo, 2015, Nepal PPPHW Program Evaluation – Report on Midline Assessment 18 Government of Nepal, National Planning Commission Secretariat, Central Bureau of Statistics and UNICEF. Nepal Multiple Indicator Survey, 2014 19 Education Management Information System, DOE, 2014/15 20 Nepal Health facility Survey, 2015

21 MoUD, 2014. National Water Supply and Sanitation Sector Policy 2014, Kathmandu: Government of Nepal.



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countries at most high risk of climate change impacts (such as changes in rainfall pattern leading to flash

floods and drying of sources). More needs to be done to address these issues and to strengthen WASH

institutions to ensure disaster and climate-resilient water and sanitation infrastructures and sustainable

WASH services.

3. Theory of Change for Programme Components

Outcome:

By 2022, children and their families have improved and equitable access to and use of safe and

sustainable drinking water and sanitation services, and improved hygiene practices

Specifically, UNICEF will contribute to this outcome through the following three outputs:

1. Increased capacity to improve water quality and functionality and to deliver and sustain safe water

(especially schools and health care facilities)

2. Improved sanitation and hygiene behaviours and sector stakeholders have enhanced capacity to

provide access to safe and sustainable sanitation and hygiene facilities in homes and institutions

3. Increased capacity to legislate, plan and budget to improve WASH systems, including

mainstreaming disaster risk management

Investing in a combination of water, sanitation and hygiene interventions will provide the

maximum health and nutrition benefits to children, adolescents and women. At the same time, strong

systems is a pre-requisite for the delivery of quality, sustainable WASH services and thus addressing WASH

systems strengthening will also be very important . Given that WASH interventions are an immediate

priority in responding to disasters, and that WASH as a sector is most affected by climate change,

addressing disaster risk management and climate change adaptation will be an important part of WASH

systems strengthening.

3.1 Water Supply

During the next country programme, UNICEF will focus on working with the government and

sector stakeholders to reach unreached populations with safe water supply. To this end and with a view to

strengthening the enabling environment, UNICEF will support the government and stakeholders to

develop a clear strategy and accompanying plans (including the promotion of innovative and alternative

technology) to reach these groups of people while seeking to address the increasing per capita costs to

reach them. Similarly, with regards to improving water functionality, UNICEF will support efforts to

strengthen the enabling environment through advocacy with stakeholders to develop and implement

plans to improve functionality and sustainability (with particular emphasis on resilience) in selected

villages and municipalities. In those locations UNICEF will support capacity development efforts of

partners including user communities to implement these plans. UNICEF will also continue to focus its

efforts on improving access and functionality of drinking water supply in schools including ECD centres,

and health care facilities. To this end, UNICEF will advocate for the implementation of the WASH in School



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component of the School Sector Development Plan (2016-23). Similarly, in collaboration with the health

and nutrition sector stakeholders, UNICEF will advocate and leverage resources with partners to improve

access to drinking water supply in health care facilities.

Under the current country programme, more focus was given on creating awareness on water

quality issues, and development of water safety plans in a few communities. Based on the learnings,

UNICEF will advocate for the strengthening of the water regulatory body for the proper implementation of

the water quality standards introduced in 2005 and for public financing to improve water quality. UNICEF

will also advocate for and support the implementation of water/sanitation safety plans (WSPs) plans

through capacity building of sector stakeholders as well as the communities themselves. With an emphasis

on inter-sectoral convergence, UNICEF will work in collaboration with the health sector to improve water

quality surveillance. In order to address supply side bottlenecks, UNICEF will work with partners to

improve access to information on household level water treatments and safe options through enhanced

information and knowledge.

Promoting resilience will be an integral part of all WASH interventions, and to this end, UNICEF will

advocate for and support government and partner efforts to integrate disaster risk management and

climate change adaptation into existing sector policies, strategies, plans and interventions. For example,

UNICEF will support capacity building efforts at different levels including at the community level on

mitigation measures such as improved and reinforced water tanks that can withstand earthquakes,

protection of water sources, rainwater harvesting, and ground water recharge, amongst others. UNICEF

will also continue its support for provision of WASH facilities in prefab and transitional learning centres

under the reconstruction activities in the earthquake affected areas for the first year of the new country

programme. UNICEF will also support the government in assessing changes (such as drying of sources and

emergence of new sources) in ground water sources which may have occurred due to the 2015

earthquake to facilitate proper planning and effective use of water sources,

3.2 Sanitation and Hygiene

During the next country programme, UNICEF will support efforts to strengthen the enabling

environment for the ODF sanitation social movement through capacity development of the WASH

community committees (CCs) to plan, implement and monitor ODF status. UNICEF will also support efforts

to create new social norms around OD and ODF sustainability through social mobilization efforts and social

consensus. Similarly, UNICEF will focus on bringing about positive changes in children and the

communities they live in and address negative social norms and harmful practices such as restricting toilet

use for women during menstruation. Evidence generation will be important, and UNICEF will support such

efforts. In addition, UNICEF will also continue its work with existing child clubs (in close coordination with

the education sector stakeholders) as a means to address social norm change.

Similarly, UNICEF will support the dissemination and roll out of the total sanitation guidelines,

with an emphasis on gender mainstreaming (including representation of women in leadership positions in

community based water and sanitation structures). In selected districts, UNICEF will support capacity

development efforts for the development, implementation and monitoring of total sanitation plans based

on the guidelines mentioned above. As part of generating evidence on total sanitation in urban and peri-

urban areas, UNICEF will assist in the undertaking rapid assessment(s) to understand both issues and

opportunities around total sanitation in these areas.

In order to address supply side bottlenecks, UNICEF will continue to support and strengthen the

supply chain for safe sanitation. Efforts will focus on promoting alternative technology and innovation for

affordable, low cost and resilient sanitation facilities. Similarly, in order to create local markets for

sanitation, UNICEF will promote partnerships (especially with the private sector) and will explore

opportunities to partner with local financing mechanisms to reach the most marginalized people with



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improved sanitation. With a view to address ODF sustainability, UNICEF will assist in the capacity

development of WASH CCs and communities for the proper management of faecal sludge as well as

upgrading of sanitation facilities to comply with SDG requirements once ODF status achieved. UNICEF will

also support efforts to improve community practice of safe disposal of child faeces through capacity

building of front line workers, mothers and care takers of their children. UNICEF will also continue to

explore innovative approaches, such as reward and recognition of early adopters of toilets.

Improving access to child, gender and disability friendly sanitation facilities in schools including

ECD centres and MHM will be a priority for the WASH programme. It is also an important priority for the

education sector s Child Friendly School Initiative. To this end, UNICEF will advocate for the

implementation of the WASH in School component under the School Sector Development Plan (SSDP)

(2016-2023) and will provide technical support for effective monitoring of the SSDP. Similarly, UNICEF will

continue its advocacy for and support to the promotion of healthy behaviour using school children as

agents of change, based on the school-led total sanitation (SLTS) approach which has been one of the

major strategies in the ODF social movement. In addition, UNICEF will also support efforts to

establish/institutionalise a monitoring mechanism to verify/certify the star approach as well to scale-it up

nationally. The star approach is designed to improve hygiene behaviour change programmes for children

(where all students wash their hands with soap and water, where all students have access to drinking

water, where students are provided with gender segregated toilet, and schools have operation and

maintenance funds to sustain WASH facilities at school).

Creating demand for sustained use of toilets will be equally important and to this end, UNICEF will

for example, support efforts for demand creation by the triggering of communities, and school children,

through mass media, and social media. Through partnerships with national and multi-national private

sectors, UNICEF will promote improved hygiene practices among children and communities including

handwashing with soap, household water treatment and safe storage. Promotion of handwashing with

soap and its integration as a core component in education, and nutrition interventions will be particularly

important - to this end, UNICEF will, for example, continue to advocate for group hand washing in school

based hygiene education, and for its integration in nutrition specific and sensitive interventions (including

the Golden 1000 Days Initiative). Similarly, in collaboration with the health sector stakeholders, UNICEF

will advocate for and collaborate with partners to leverage resources to improve sanitation and hygiene in

health care facilities. In addition, evaluation of the sanitation programme will be conducted for

programme improvement. Advocacy, strong behavioural change communication, and capacity building at

community and Local Governments (LGs) levels will be the major strategies focussing on creating new

social norms around open defecation and other related practices to bring sustainable change. Under the

sanitation social movement, support will be provided to reduce the total number of people practicing

open defecation from 3.7 million people to 1 million through direct support to selected LGs as well as

provincial level interventions.

3.3 Systems Strengthening including DRR/CCA

During the next country programme, UNICEF will continue to support efforts to strengthen the

enabling environment through capacity development, partnerships as well as promotion of inter-sectoral

linkages including support to best transition to the new federal model while avoiding disruptions. One of

the key areas of work will involve the operationalization of the WASH SDP, including efforts to develop the

SDP implementation guidelines and provincial and LGs level costed plans, child friendly WASH governance,

capacity building plans, financing strategies, and monitoring mechanism. UNICEF will also support the

government to finalize and operationalize a new WASH Act and revise existing WASH policies (including

with a view to effectively address gender inequality and social inclusion in WASH). Similarly, UNICEF will

also support the strengthening of the current the NMIP in order to improve regular and more extensive



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reporting on the sector through provision of technical support. UNICEF will also assist with the roll-out the

WASH in Schools guidelines (currently being drafted). Technical support will also be provided to integrate

additional WASH related indicators (especially with a view to capture software aspects of WASH in

Schools) into the Education Management Information System (EMIS) fulfilling SDG reporting

requirements. Similarly, UNICEF will advocate for the development and roll out of a WASH in Health Care

Facilities guidelines. Since climate change will continue to exacerbate disaster risk in Nepal, UNICEF will

continue to build a stronger evidence base that is needed in terms of understanding the current impact of

climate change to WASH facilities and services vis a vis their impact on children.

Furthermore, UNICEF will also seek to address the gaps in evidence in the WASH sector by

supporting efforts on evidence generation on aspects such as arsenic contamination in water, WASH and

the emerging issues of urbanization, resilience in WASH, and WASH and children. In addition to evidence

generation on WASH and resilience, given Nepal s vulnerability to disasters and impacts of climate change,

integration of disaster risk management and climate change adaptation into existing policies, strategies

and plan will be of utmost importance. UNICEF will support efforts to enhance the LG s and community

capacities to cope with and manage disasters including the impact(s) of climate change through multi-

hazard risk analyses and risk-informed programming approaches for the conservation and protection of

water resources, adaptation to increasing water scarcity, for addressing deteriorating water quality and

for improving disaster-resilient water and sanitation technologies and systems as part of integrated

programming. In partnership with the health sector, UNICEF will support efforts to reduce public health

risks (such as the recurring cholera outbreaks) related to inadequate WASH services through government

capacity development. As the WASH cluster co-lead, UNICEF will also support government and other

partners on emergency preparedness and response in line with the Core Commitment for Children (CCCs).

3.4 Major assumptions, key risks associated and mitigation measures

A number of assumptions underline the above. The first and foremost is that WASH sector

improvement (with an emphasis of disaster risk management as well as climate change adaptation)

continues to be high on the government agenda and that the government capacity, including financial and

human resources and political commitment are adequate to sustain WASH interventions. In particular, it is

assumed that delivering services to the most disadvantaged is given priority. Secondly, it is assumed that

natural disasters do not overwhelm government and UNICEF resources. Thirdly, it is assumed that the

establishment of a federal state structure with substantial devolution of power to the provinces as part of

the implementation of Nepal s new constitution in the coming years will proceed smoothly. In particular, it

is assumed that the functional distribution of the different tiers of government will happen soon, including

civil service restructuring. Fourthly, it is assumed that the enabling environment provides the necessary

conditions for both public and private providers to deliver cost-effective WASH services. Finally, it is

assumed that communities are open to receiving information and behaviour change messages and that

there is receptiveness amongst stakeholders to the new focus on water safety planning.

Some of the associated risks include natural disasters and the risk of disease outbreaks. Nepal is

highly prone to natural disasters which may dramatically increase the need for WASH services and existing

human and financial capacities become insufficient. Key mitigation measures will include continued

advocacy on the importance of WASH and systems strengthening for preparedness and response. There is

a risk that prolonged disputes over the implementation of the constitution and federalization could lead to

political instability, protests and strikes that could turn violent, and paralyze policy implementation. Key

mitigation measures will include supporting and strengthening ongoing participative processes (including

UN coherence) and political dialogues. Another major risk includes the current lack of government

capacity and the frequent transfer of government staff which may lead to delay in programme

implementation or failure to achieve results. Key mitigation measures will include rapid orientation of



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transferred staff as well facilitation of knowledge sharing and leaning across provinces and Local

Governments. In addition, government bureaucracy as well as budget (delay in planning and budget

allocations) and cash management practices may pose risk as well. Key mitigation measures include

mechanisms that have already been put in place to reduce risks related to high cash transfer including a

monitoring system of payment to partners as well as providing support to national budget planning

process and harmonizing UNICEF s annual and multi-year planning process with the government s

framework.

Schematic Illustration of the Theory of Change

WASH



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IMPACT

Realizing the right to water, sanitation and hygiene by all children, especially the most disadvantaged

OUTCOME



Assumptions:

X Government capacity and

political commitment remain

high and are adequate

X Budget allocation and

expenditure is adequate and

are prioritized for reaching the

unreached population

X Disasters do not overwhelm

resources

Assumptions:

X Communities are receptive

to receiving information and

behaviour change messages

X There is no disasters and

other political crises

X Government planning and

budgeting are timely

X Government and other

sector partners as well as

communities have capacity

which can be supported

X Gover e t a d part ers accord disaster risk

management and climate

change adaptation

importance

X There is adequate

collaboration with and

understanding on importance

of mainstreaming gender,

disability and ECD in WASH

interventions

Strategic Interventions (illustrative)

Capacity development

Strengthen national and sub-national capacity for water quality monitoring & surveillance mechanism

Develop national and sub-national capacity for scaling up total sanitation and hygiene promotion with focus on social

norms

Provide support to improve sector performance monitoring

Develop national and sub-national capacity for disaster risk management and climate change adaptation

Support the development and implementation of water safety plans (WSPs)

Evidence generation, policy dialogue, and advocacy

Advocate for provision of monitoring of WASH services in schools, health care facilities and unreached communities

Support research on urban WASH issues (total sanitation, water quality etc.)

Research on water quantity, quality and functionality in the context of climate change and disasters

Advocate for and support government and partner efforts to integrate disaster risk management and climate change

adaptation into existing sector policies, strategies and plans

Partnerships

Support partnership with the private sector for strengthening supply chains, innovation on sanitation

Explore and promote appropriate technology for resilient WASH services

Support partnerships with the private sector (national and multi-nationals) to promote improved hygiene practices

among children and communities

Support to integration and cross-sectoral linkages

Collaborate with the health sector on water quality surveillance, emerging public health issues and WASH in health care

facilities.

Collaborate with the education sector on implementation of the WASH component under the School Sector

Development Plan and WASH in Schools

Collaborate with nutrition and C4D for the implementation of the WASH component in the MSNP and G1000 Days

Initiative

Service delivery

Provide WASH services as part of the earthquake reconstruction efforts

Provide WASH services during emergencies

Assumptions:

X Humanitarian crises do not

overwhelm human and

financial capacity overall

X Political support for

addressing inequity and

reaching the unreached

population with WASH services

main strong

X There is progress on other

OUTPUT 1

Increased capacity to improve water quality and functionality and to deliver and sustain safe water

(especially schools and health care facilities)

OUTPUT 2

Improved sanitation and hygiene behaviours and sector stakeholders have enhanced capacity to provide

access to safe and sustainable sanitation and hygiene facilities in homes and institutions

OUTPUT 3

Increased capacity to legislate, plan and budget to improve WASH systems, including mainstreaming

disaster risk management

Imp

act

Ind

ica

tors

Ou

tco

me

Ind

ica

tors

Ou

tpu

t

Ind

ica

tors



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4. Results Structure and Framework

Hierarchy of Results Structure

National Development Plan Priority:

Social and human development

WASH Programme Outcome



Output 1

Increased capacity to improve

water quality and functionality

and to deliver and sustain safe

water (especially schools and

health care facilities)

Inputs: Staff, financial resources (RR/OR), equipment, good practice examples, consultants/technical assistance

Output 2

Improved sanitation and hygiene

behaviours and sector

stakeholders have enhanced

capacity to provide access to safe

and sustainable sanitation and

hygiene facilities in homes and

institutions

Output 3

Increased capacity to legislate,

plan and budget to improve

WASH systems, including

mainstreaming disaster risk

management

ACTIVITIES

ACTIVITIES

ACTIVITIES

ACTIVITIES

ST

RA

TE

GIE

S

ST

RA

TE

GIE

S

ACTIVITIES

ACTIVITIES

ST

RA

TE

GIE

S

UNDAF Result/s Outcome 2: By 2022, there is improved, equitable access, availability and utilization of quality basic social services for all

people, particularly for vulnerable people Outcome3: By 2022, environmental management, sustainable recovery and reconstruction, and resilience to climate change

and natural disaster are strengthened at all levels



12

5. Results Framework

Key results Progress indicators Baseline Target Means of

verifications

Key partners

Sustainable development Goal 6: Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all

National development Plan Priority – Universal access to basic WASH services; improved service levels; functionality and sustainability

improvements (WASH Sector Development Plan)

UNDAF Outcome 2: By 2022, there is improved, equitable access, availability and utilization of quality basic social services for all people,

particularly for vulnerable people.

UNDAF Outcome 3: By 2022, environmental management, sustainable recovery and reconstruction, and resilience to climate change and

natural disaster are strengthened at all levels.

UNICEF WASH Programme Outcome

By 2022, children

and their families

have improved and

equitable access to

and use of safe and

sustainable

drinking water and

sanitation services,

and improved

hygiene practices

Proportion of population

using basic water service

93 per cent (26.7

million people)

97 per cent (29.8

million people)

National

household

surveys

Government and

non- government

org

Proportion of the

population using a safely

managed drinking water

service at community level

27 per cent (7.7

million people)

40 per cent (12.2

million people)

Joint Monitoring

Programme for

Water Supply &

Sanitation

Government and

non- government

org

Proportion of the people

practicing open defecation

10 per cent

(2.8 million

people)

1 per cent (300,000

people)

DWSS Government and

non- government

org

Proportion of population

using safely managed

sanitation services.

TBD 30% increase from

baseline value

National

household

surveys

Government and

non- government

org

Per cent of households

with a specific place for

handwashing where water

and soap and other

cleansing are present

72.5 per cent (20.8

million)

80 per cent (24.6

million)

MICS report DoHS

DWSS

UNICEF WASH Programme Outputs

Output 1

Increased capacity

to improve water

quality and

functionality and to

deliver and sustain

safe water

(especially schools

and health care

facilities)

# of water supply schemes

with water safety plans

operationalized

500 1,500 Partners Report

and UNICEF

M & E Report

DWSS

Non-

government

org

# of local bodies (Gaupalika

& Nagarpalika) with water

quality surveillance

mechanism operationalized

0 50 local bodies MoWSS/ DWSS

report

DWSS

DoHS

WHO


& Nagarpalika) with action

plan developed, and

operationalized for

improving functionality of

water supply system.

0 60 local bodies DWSS report DWSS

Non-

government

org

Existence of a national plan

with target to provide

access to drinking water to

unserved populations

none 1 plan at national

level

MoWSS/ DWSS

report

MoWSS/ DWSS

DP group

Output 2

Improved

sanitation and

hygiene behaviours

and sector

stakeholders have

Number of additional

people with access to basic

toilet

0 500,000 people UNICEF Internal

Report

DoHS

DWSS

Proportion of mothers and

care givers with knowledge

48 per cent 60 per cent MICS report DoHS

DWSS



13

Key results Progress indicators Baseline Target Means of

verifications

Key partners

enhanced capacity

to provide access to

safe and

sustainable

sanitation and

hygiene facilities in

homes and

institutions

on safe disposal of child

faeces


& Nagarpalika) with action

plan developed, and

implemented for achieving

total sanitation status.

0 60 local bodies DWSS reports

WSSDO reports

DWSS

WSSDOs

Sector

stakeholders


& Nagarpalika) capacitated

on Three Star Approach to

WASH in Schools

0 60 local bodies MoE/ DoE

reports

DoE

DEOs

Output 3

Increased capacity

to legislate, plan

and budget to

improve WASH

systems, including

mainstreaming

disaster risk

management


master plan developed and

rolled out at provincial and

Local Governments levels.

0 1 national,

2 provincial and 60

LGs plans

DWSS reports DWSS

Sector

stakeholders

Sector performance

monitoring system in place.

0 1 Sector status

Reports

DWSS

MoWSS

WASH plans integrating

climate resilient

development and/or risk

management strategies

available at national and

sub-national level.

0 National and 60 local

bodies

DWSS reports

WSSDO reports

DWSS

WASH Sector Development

Plan operationalized at

national and sub-national

level.

0 National and 60 local

bodies

DWSS reports

WSSDO reports

DWSS

WASH in School and WASH

in Health Care facilities

guidelines developed,

endorsed and

operationalized

nationwide.

0 1 WASH in School

and 1 in WASH in

Health Care Facilities

guidelines

Guidelines

DoE and DoHS

reports

Sector reviews

DoE

DoHS

Existence of functioning

cluster coordination

mechanism for water,

sanitation and hygiene in

humanitarian situations at

national and sub-national

level.

initiating Established (as per

standard RAM

indicators)

WASH Cluster

reports

WASH Cluster

members



14

6. Aligning Results, Strategies and Required Resources

The key inputs for the WASH programme components for the next country programme include

financial resources, core staff, technical assistance, including TAs and consultants, and supplies. It is

estimated that the full implementation of the proposed WASH programme will require a total of US$18

million dollars for the programme period (about US$ 3.6 million dollars per year). Of this total amount, it is

estimated that up to 20 per cent will go towards human resources and technical assistance, about 10 per

cent for supplies and the remaining 70 per cent is expected to be used for cash assistance.

14.5% per cent of the total budget (US$2.6 million) is expected to be funded from Regular

Resources (RR), and will be available for the duration of the programme period. RR will be used for core

staff cost as well as programming. The remaining 85.5 per cent of the budgeted amount (US$15.4 million)

is expected to be funded from Other Resources (OR) and will need to be mobilized during the programme

period. To this end, fundraising efforts will be undertaken with existing strategic partners of the WASH

programme including donors such as DFID, the Government of Finland, the EU and the private sector.

Intense efforts will be made to consolidate existing partnerships and to raise funds from other national

committees and private sector actors.

The section will continue to be led by an international P4 Section Chief, who will guide and

supervise 3 NOC level WASH Specialists (for the three broad areas of Policy/Institutional, WASH Services,

and DRR/Emergency), one M&E Officer at NOB level and one Program Assistant at GS6 level. The national

team will provide required technical support to all the 7 provinces especially in the strategic areas of

policy formulation; development of costed plans, guidelines and framework; capacity development and

system strengthening under the new federal structures. Depending on the UNICEF field office locations, 6

WASH Officers (three at NOB level and three at NOA level) will provide support for policy formulation,

development of WASH plans at provincial and Local Government (LG) levels as well as implementation and

monitoring of specific projects at LG level. Any additional technical support arrangements will be made

based on the emerging needs of the section.

Output 1: Communities, and government structures at national and sub-national levels have

increased capacity to improve water quality and functionality and to deliver and sustain safe

water (especially to the unreached populations and in schools and health care facilities)

Total 5 years

RR OR/ORE

Staff and Technical Assistance UNICEF personnel, TA

555,667 651,000

Strategies Grouping of related activities

Service delivery Procurement/distribution of supplies and equipment;

logistics/transportation, warehousing, infrastructure, direct

assistance/cash grants, monitoring, innovations

1,200,000


communities

Development of materials/training aids, IEC materials,

workshops, social mobilization/community empowerment,

C4D, networks

300,000 1,200,000

Institutional building

(organizational)

Development of plans/micro-plans, institutional

mechanisms/tools, guidelines, protocols/standards,

coordination; oversight strengthening, management

information systems, resourcing and budgeting, governance

1,500,000

Evidence generation Situation Analysis, research, studies, surveys, evaluation,

assessments, generation of profiles, knowledge management,

innovative approaches

800,000

Policy dialogue and advocacy Strategy/Policy formulation, convening meetings, organizing

workshops, study tours, south/south cooperation,

partnership building, media communication, resource

mobilization, budget exercises, legal framework

Total Output 1 6,206,667 855,667 5,351,000



15

Output 2: Households and communities (including school children) in selected areas have

improved sanitation and hygiene behaviours and sector stakeholders have enhanced capacity

to provide access to safe and sustainable sanitation and hygiene facilities in homes and

institutions

Total 5 years

RR OR/ORE


555,667 651,000





1,000,000


communities



C4D, networks

300,000 2,089,000


(organizational)





1,000,000




1,000,000





500,000

Total Output 2 6,095,667 855,667 6,240,000

Output 3: Government structures at national and sub-national levels have increased capacity to

legislate, plan and budget to improve WASH systems, including mainstreaming disaster risk

management to plan for, respond to and mitigate the effects of disasters and climate change

Total 5 years

RR OR/ORE


555,666 651,000





333,000 500,000


communities



C4D, networks

900,000


(organizational)





800,000




458,000





500,000

Total Output 3 4,697,666 888,666 3,809,000

Grand Total 17,000,000 2,600,000 15,400,000

7. Monitoring Outputs and Demonstrating UNICEF’s Contribution to Outcomes

The results structure mentioned in section 4 above will serve as a basis for monitoring and

reporting progress and evaluating results. Programme outcomes and outputs will be measured and

captured through a series of coverage and quality indicators set out in the structure, and which are

aligned with Results Assessment Module (RAM). To ensure the credibility and transparency in

measurement and analysis, UNICEF will draw on various sources of data such as national surveys and data

collected through other sources such as the EMIS and the NMIP.



16

UNICEF s contribution to outcomes will be measured primarily through national surveys with

standardized measures and protocols, such as the Demographic and Health Survey, and the Multiple

Indicator Cluster Survey and a Rapid Survey for WASH to establish baseline values for SDG indicators

especially sanitation to be completed by 2018. UNICEF s contribution in specific communities will be

assessed with disaggregated data by geographical area. Data disaggregated by social determinants, such

as wealth, education level and ethnicity, wherever available, will also provide insights into trends in

disparities in WASH and outcomes.

The results at output level will be measured using an Excel based monitoring and evaluation

system, which was developed in 2014 and has been practiced since then in the Nepal Country Office.

Results achieved against targets will be monitored periodically (every trimester). Sustainability monitoring

of water supply schemes will be done by using a standard checklist developed and practised by UNICEF

since 2015. In addition, the EMIS, and NMIP will used to measure some of indicators at output level.

During emergencies, the Humanitarian Performance Monitoring (HPM) will be used to ensure a clear

alignment of results with UNICEF s Core Commitments for Children (CCCs) and to track the numbers of

people reached with interventions, use for improving programme quality, and contribute toward cluster

monitoring.

As per the harmonised action on cash transfer (HACT) requirements, programmatic field visits,

financial spot checks, and micro-assessments will be carried out. Training and in the field support will be

provided to implementing partners to meet the HACT requirements.

UNICEF will hold mid and end-year reviews of the country programme with government and

development partners to learn about progress, achievements, issues and challenges. The annual WASH

sector monitoring and review events will provide opportunities to track progress toward achieving the

intended outcomes and outputs and to triangulate the results. Results, lessons learned and best practices

will be analysed, documented, and disseminated for policy dialogue and replication in other areas of Nepal

as well as within the region and around the world.

During the next country programme, the WASH sector will carry out some surveys and

evaluations. Baseline, midline and endline surveys will be carried out to both measure baselines and as

well as track progress. This will also enable UNICEF to comply with specific donor reporting requirements.

Accelerating Sanitation and Water for All (ASWA) Programme and global and regional accountability

mechanisms such as SWA and SACOSAN. Indicators that are not included in national surveys such as the

MICS and DHS will be covered by these surveys. In addition, an evaluation of the sanitation programme

will be conducted during the course of the country programme.

Documents

WATER, SANITATION & HYGIENE (WASH)files.unicef.org/transparency/documents/NCO PSN WASH 21.06.2017.pdfUNICEF NEPAL COUNTRY OFFICE PROGRAMME STRATEGY NOTE 1 WATER, SANITATION & HYGIENE