Equity and inclusion in WASH in Nepal: policy and practice

The inclusive governance in Nepal's drinking water and sanitation sector is a recent phenomenon though several sector policies, plans and other framework had promoted gender, inclusion and community's leadership. The engagement of local level Water Users' and Sanitation Committees is an exclusive example of decentralized arrangement of community management in WASH. These national instruments had enabled inclusion of women and people from disadvantaged communities in the committees and advocated for equity in investment and service delivery. In the past, such policy provisions were poorly complied in the absence of high level political commitments, participatory planning, pragmatic guiding documents and robust monitoring frameworks. The prevailing wider gap in access to drinking water and sanitation services among different groups substantiates this fact. Systematic advocacy, capacity development, enforcement of constitutional and policy provisions, research and studies, review and reflections and knowledge sharing seems crucial to ensure equity and inclusion in the WASH sector.