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Health, Water and Sanitation

Sector >> Health, Water and Sanitation

Health is considered as a central concern in development with increasing realization regarding the role of health in poverty reduction and how poor health and disease creates and perpetuates poverty and undermines economic and social outcomes. The challenges in public health care system in several countries ranges from inadequate infrastructure, low government spending, shortage of healthcare professionals, rural urban disparity, and poor penetration of insurance, which accentuates the inadequate access to proper health care. These challenges are exacerbated by the issues faced in water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) sector where drinking water supply and sanitation facilities continue to be inadequate. The issues of health and well-being are closely related to adequate water supply and functional sanitation systems and despite the progress made in the last two decades, significant inequalities in access to quality and affordable health care, and a disproportionate burden of communicable and non-communicable disease persists in several geographies.

Our work in the health and the WASH sector is focused on technical and management assistance to programmes; monitoring and formative research in maternal and child health, urban and rural health service delivery; evaluation of community lead sanitation and quality of health services; health facility and service provider surveys; policy research and strategy for WASH and health services; regional planning for strengthening health care systems; developing advocacy and communication strategy, and monitoring and evaluation of programmes.

Select Work in Health, Water and Sanitation

Supporting ADB National Urban Health Mission

2016 - 2018

Impact Evaluation of World Bank Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project, Neer Nirmal Pariyojana, Uttar Pradesh

2017 - 2018

ADB National Urban Health Mission (NUHM) Technical Assistance is a $300 Million Project aimed at reinforcing NUHM efforts to improve the health status of the urban population by facilitating equitable access to quality and essential health services. The programme is envisaged to meet two critical outcomes which is to strengthen primary health care system, improve quality of urban health services and develop capacity for planning, management, innovation and knowledge sharing.

Sutra consulting was part of the consortium of consultants who provided technical assistance to this programme. Our team of experts provided project management support and contributed in formulating and implementing institutional capacity development plan in urban health; conducting result monitoring; developing innovations for urban health including use of ICT linking primary health centres and promoting public-private partnerships to improve health services quality and access and develop effective models of community participation and inter-sectoral convergence. The work of the consortium led to effective delivery of services in the fields of public health, capacity building, health procurement and systems strengthening.

The World Bank Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project for Low Income States (RWSS-LIS), Neer Nirmal Pariyojana (NNP) aims at enhancing piped drinking water supply and sanitation coverage through decentralized delivery systems. The sanitation component of the project is going to complement SBM (G) programme, by bringing about convergence in institutional arrangements and integrating water and sanitation processes into a single scheme cycle.

Sutra Consulting was engaged in conducting an impact evaluation (IE) to evaluate the benefits of the water supply and sanitation interventions under the project in the state of Uttar Pradesh which has shown significant progress in institutional development and implementation of the project. The team of experts have assessed the impact of the project interventions on health, education, sanitation and hygiene behaviour and social cohesion and empowerment outcomes. The findings from the evaluation has contributed in improving the understanding of rural sanitation and hygiene linkage and sustainability of such projects.

Media Agency to Design, Develop and Deploy Audio- Visual Media for Information, Education and Communication under World Bank Neer Nirmal Pariyojana, Assam

2018

Rapid Appraisal of DFID Rural Water and Sanitation Sector in Odisha

2011 - 2012

Neer Nirmal Pariyojana is a programme of the World Bank, which aims to improve piped water coverage integrated with sanitation services in the rural areas through decentralized service delivery systems. The programme covers four States in first phase- Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand and UP and is implemented through the Public Health Engineering Department at the state level. The project follows conjoint saturation approach for developing the piped drinking water supply system with household connections, individual House Hold toilets, facilities in schools and anganwadis and Solid & Liquid Waste Management in Village.

Sutra Consulting is engaged to develop relevant IEC materials including Print, Audio and Video tools to facilitate clear understanding and acceptance of the project among the beneficiaries and other stakeholders for Neer Nirmal Pariyojana, Assam. Our team has worked on IEC materials in print category include leaflet, Booklet on frequently asked questions (FAQ), Book labels for school children, booklets on scheme-wise detail, Calendar 2019 and Promotional board. The IEC materials in Audio and Visual category include television advertisement, TV tickers, tele-documentary, training video and radio spots to generate awareness regarding salient features of the scheme and community participation. In addition, our team will also anchor training of community cadre on usage of IEC materials and exposure visits of journalists to showcase the best practices and modalities regarding rural water supply and sanitation facilities.

The DFID Technical and Management Support Team (TMST), provided support to the Government of Odisha's Departments of Health and Family Welfare, Women and Child Development, and Department of Rural Development, to implement the Odisha Health and Nutrition Support Programme. From 2012-2016. The programme aimed at improving access to health, nutrition and water and sanitation services in underserved areas; strengthening of public health management systems; health care seeking behaviour change communication; and use of evidence in planning and delivery.

Sutra Consulting was engaged by DFID-TMST for conducting rapid appraisal of the Rural Water and Sanitation sector in Odisha. The team of experts based on thematic areas such as membership in community institutions, access to toilet, functionality and usage of toilets, hygiene behaviour practice and consciousness, safe water drinking practices, access to safe water etc., reviewed the current practices prevalent in four districts in Odisha which are among the best performing and worst performing districts under the Total Sanitation Campaign and recommended possible strategic path for policy and operational change. The team identified and documented the best practices from the selected districts to build strategies on the basis of evidential information.