Empowering Community Engagement and Advocacy for Equitable Water and Sanitation Access
Access to reliable, affordable, and safe water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services remains a significant challenge for millions of urban residents living in informal settlements across India. The city of Hyderabad is no exception, as it grapples with widening service gaps and growing inequities, especially in its rapidly expanding peripheral areas.
Frontline WASH workers, often drawn from the local community, play a critical role in bridging this divide and ensuring vulnerable populations receive essential services. However, these workers frequently lack the necessary skills, resources, and institutional support to effectively advocate for and deliver WASH services in informal settlements. Strengthening their capacity is crucial to achieving equitable, sustainable, and climate-resilient WASH outcomes in Hyderabad.
This article explores innovative approaches to empower frontline WASH workers as agents of change, highlighting successful community engagement and advocacy strategies implemented in Hyderabad and other cities in the global South. By drawing insights from recent research and practical case studies, it provides a roadmap for cities to build the skills, resources, and partnerships that enable frontline workers to drive transformative WASH reforms.
Confronting the Urban WASH Challenge in Informal Settlements
Hyderabad, the capital of Telangana state, is home to over 10 million people, many of whom live in informal settlements or slums. These communities, often on the city’s periphery, face severe deficits in WASH infrastructure and services. According to a 2020 UN-Habitat report, nearly 70% of Hyderabad’s urban population lack access to safely managed sanitation, and 30% lack access to safely managed drinking water.
The reasons for these gaps are multifaceted. Rapid, unplanned urbanization has outpaced the city’s ability to extend WASH networks to keep pace with population growth, especially in informal settlements. A 2020 advocacy brief by the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board notes that urban informal settlements are often overlooked in development plans, with limited budget allocations and institutional coordination to address their needs.
Moreover, the water and sanitation utilities serving Hyderabad have historically focused on serving higher-income, formally planned areas of the city. As research by the World Resources Institute highlights, this has created a pervasive urban services divide, where the better-off enjoy reliable, affordable WASH services, while the poor and marginalized struggle to access even basic facilities.
The COVID-19 pandemic has further exacerbated these inequities, with informal settlement residents facing heightened risks due to inadequate handwashing and sanitation access. A 2020 UNICEF report found that in many Indian cities, less than 50% of households in informal settlements had access to handwashing facilities with soap and water, compared to over 90% in formal settlements.
Empowering Frontline WASH Workers as Agents of Change
Amid these daunting challenges, frontline WASH workers have emerged as critical links between communities and service providers, playing a vital role in improving access and quality of services in informal settlements. These workers, often recruited from the local community, are responsible for tasks such as:
- Conducting household WASH assessments and mapping service gaps
- Facilitating community engagement and mobilization around WASH issues
- Providing basic maintenance and troubleshooting of community water points and sanitation facilities
- Promoting hygiene behavior change through door-to-door outreach
- Advocating with local authorities and utilities for improved WASH services
However, frontline WASH workers frequently lack the training, resources, and institutional support needed to fulfill these roles effectively. Strengthening their capacities in the following areas can empower them to drive transformative change:
1. Technical and Operational Skills
Frontline workers require training in technical skills such as water quality testing, maintenance of community sanitation facilities, and monitoring of service delivery. They also need skills in community mobilization, conflict resolution, and advocacy to engage with local authorities and service providers.
In Pune, India, the Mahila Housing Trust (MHT) has worked to build the capacities of community WASH champions, providing them with technical training on water and sanitation infrastructure, water quality testing, and maintenance. This has enabled the champions to better monitor service quality and advocate for improvements in their neighborhoods.
2. Data Collection and Mapping
Equipping frontline workers with digital tools and skills to collect, analyze, and visualize community-level WASH data can strengthen their ability to identify service gaps, track progress, and make evidence-based demands. This data can also inform city-level planning and budgeting.
The Know Your City initiative of Slum/Shack Dwellers International has empowered community organizations across Africa and Asia to systematically map informal settlements and document WASH access and needs. In Nairobi, this data has enabled residents to effectively lobby the water utility to provide more convenient water sources.
3. Partnerships and Advocacy
Frontline workers require the knowledge and confidence to collaborate with local government agencies, utilities, and other stakeholders to advocate for improved WASH services. Building their advocacy skills, understanding of policy and regulatory frameworks, and ability to navigate complex institutional landscapes is crucial.
In Kampala, Uganda, the National Slum Dwellers Federation has worked closely with the National Water and Sewerage Corporation to integrate informal service providers into the city’s water supply network. This has improved access and accountability in low-income communities.
4. Financial Literacy and Sustainability
To ensure the long-term viability of community-managed WASH services, frontline workers need training in financial management, tariff setting, and cost recovery. They must also develop innovative approaches to secure sustainable financing, such as through partnerships with microfinance institutions.
In Ahmedabad, India, the Mahila Housing Trust has facilitated access to microfinance for low-income households to construct household toilets. This has boosted toilet coverage while ensuring financial sustainability of the sanitation services.
Building Coalitions for Equitable and Sustainable WASH Reforms
Empowering frontline WASH workers alone is not enough; it must be complemented by broader efforts to reform policies, strengthen institutions, and forge multi-stakeholder partnerships for equitable and sustainable WASH services. Key strategies include:
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Inclusive Governance: Ensuring meaningful representation of informal settlement residents, frontline workers, and community-based organizations in WASH planning, budgeting, and decision-making processes.
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Integrated Service Delivery: Promoting coordination between municipal agencies, utilities, and community groups to deliver comprehensive, cross-cutting WASH solutions that address the unique needs of informal settlements.
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Innovative Financing: Leveraging a mix of public, private, and community-based financing mechanisms to fund WASH infrastructure and service improvements in underserved areas.
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Climate-Resilient WASH: Integrating climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction measures into WASH interventions to enhance the resilience of informal settlements.
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Knowledge Sharing and Learning: Facilitating peer-to-peer exchanges and documenting best practices to enable cities to learn from each other’s successes and challenges in empowering frontline WASH workers.
By strengthening the capacities of frontline WASH workers and forging these broader transformations, cities like Hyderabad can bridge the urban services divide and ensure equitable, sustainable, and climate-resilient WASH services for all.
Conclusion
Frontline WASH workers are essential partners in the quest for universal access to safe water and sanitation in Hyderabad’s informal settlements. Empowering them with the right skills, resources, and institutional support can catalyze community engagement, data-driven advocacy, and innovative service delivery models that address the unique challenges faced by the urban poor.
However, this is not a solo endeavor. Realizing the potential of frontline WASH workers requires coordinated efforts by local authorities, utilities, civil society, and communities to transform policies, institutions, and financing mechanisms. By adopting a holistic, collaborative approach, cities can unlock the power of frontline workers as agents of change, paving the way for more equitable, sustainable, and resilient WASH services.
The lessons from Hyderabad and other global examples highlighted in this article offer a roadmap for cities across India and the global South to strengthen the capacity of their frontline WASH workforce and forge a more inclusive, climate-smart urban development future. Joint action by all stakeholders is crucial to ensure no one is left behind in the quest for universal access to this most essential of public services.
