Datagaps Category: Clean Water and Sanitation

Relevance and promising measurement approaches:

Inclusive implementation and governance of WASH policies could boost awareness of the water-related duties carried out by girls and women, which could improve the design of safe, accessible and usable WASH facilities. Given their unique use of and dependence on local water resources, women have knowledge on water location, quality and storage methods to contribute to local WASH management.

There is a lack of data on local WASH administration. The Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) for Water Supply and Sanitation reports globally on water supply and the sanitation sector, and its indicator frameworks and baseline estimates for the SDG-related WASH targets and open ‘data drive’ represent promising approaches. The World Bank’s The Rising Tide report includes survey responses on the perceived top priorities for governments in 2017, revealing gender differences in the ways that men and women think about water use and management. The report highlights exclusive initiatives that have had unintended consequences for gender equality. UN Women’s Accountability Framework on Gender, Urban Water and Sanitation assesses women’s empowerment within urban water and sanitation management, proposing a self-assessment tool for mainstreaming gender in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development in the governments of large cities.

Relevance and promising measurement approaches:

The availability of WASH facilities in schools affects the educational performance of girls – especially those from poor, rural or marginalised families. Research from Bolivia, Cambodia, Ethiopia, India, Kenya and Tanzania has documented how the lack of adequate sanitation facilities and MHM interventions in schools can lead to disrupted classroom engagement and absenteeism among girls. Adolescent girls’ ability to meet their MHM needs in school is critical to limit school dropout and enable their lifelong ability to understand and manage menstruation.

Many national governments do not collect the data required to adequately monitor hygiene components of SDG 6. The survey tools for the sixth round of MICS includes a women’s questionnaire with new questions on access to materials and facilities for MHM and non-participation in school, work or social activities during menstruation. These indicators will be routinely tabulated in future survey reports. The new framework for WASH monitoring extends beyond the household with questions on schools and healthcare facilities.