9 COVID-19 Response and WASH Lessons Learned in India SUMMARY • As of 5 October 2020, there have been 6.62 million positive cases, with 5.59 million recoveries, and 103,000 deaths across the country. • UNICEF has supported various states in reaching an estimated 40 million beneficiaries with hygiene messages, WASH services, and supplies in partnership with government, NGOs, and the private sector (via corporate social responsibility initiatives) as of November 2020. • As the COVID-19 response was led by the health sector, not all actors had expertise on handwashing and hygiene or consulted WASH agencies. It took time to include WASH agencies into the COVID-19 response. Given the health-led response by government, other line ministries took time to understand and take up their roles and responsibilities, requiring advocacy. Context private sector (via corporate social responsibility initiatives) as of November 2020. UNICEF has, at The COVID-19 pandemic spread to India when its the central-level and in states, provided technical first case, in Kerala, was confirmed on 30 January support to the government in planning, capacity 2020. As of 5 October 2020, there have been 6.62 building, implementation of COVID-19 activities, million positive cases, with 5.59 million recoveries, behavior-change communications as well as the and 103,000 deaths across the country. On 24 development/dissemination of protocols on safety March 2020, Prime Minister Narendra Modi practices. announced a 21-day national lockdown to contain the pandemic which was further extended until the end of May, generating a massive urban to rural Response exodus with millions of migrants desperately trying to return home; thousands were seen walking or Strategy/Approach taken by Country Office: bicycling hundreds of kilometers to go back to their Rapid Assessments: Delhi and 13 state office native villages. teams have led and contributed to multiple rapid UNICEF has supported various states in reaching assessments, especially during the beginning of an estimated 40 million beneficiaries with hygiene the response period when information was messages, WASH services, and supplies in required to identify urgent needs. UNICEF staff partnership with government, NGOs, and the members in Bihar, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh (UP), COVID-19 WASH RESPONSE and Chhattisgarh conducted WASH assessments response to migrants and launched a collaborative in health care facilities (HCFs) and quarantine platform (named Jeevan Rath) of 75 partners and centers. The findings have informed the over 1,000 volunteers that distributed food, hand- development of state WASH protocols. Other hygiene materials, sanitary napkins, footwear, states, such as Assam, Rajasthan, and Odisha, water, basic medical support, etc. in Mumbai. conducted assessments at households, as well as WASH colleagues in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, intermediary and temporary medical camps, which Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, MP, and UP helped inform state planning. UNICEF supported also supported addressing migrant populations’ Rapid Needs Assessments on migrants and needs, including setting up protocols for temporary shelter camps in Maharashtra, Odisha, UP, and camp management; developing mobile Gujarat. The findings were used to support the applications aiming to map migrant skills to state to develop a real-time shelter management ongoing needs in home states; and providing protocol. Odisha and West Bengal led a detailed necessary hygiene kits and food rations to people study to understand the disruption of basic WASH on the move. services in urban slum settlements, supporting the COVID response. Similarly, Gujarat partnered with Schools: UNICEF provided technical support for IIT Gandhinagar to conduct a wastewater the preparation of guidelines on the reopening of epidemiology study, which will support the states to schools in seven states. At a national level, the monitor caseloads in urban settlements. UNICEF WASH section supported the Ministry of Education (MoE) in developing the Safe School Handwashing: UNICEF supported the installation Protocol (SSP). In multiple states (e.g. Tamil Nadu, of around 15,805 handwashing stations in rural Bihar, Gujarat, Maharashtra) UNICEF oriented communities and shelter camps, which inspired block officials, teachers, state/district functionaries, local governments to scale up this initiative with principals, wardens of tribal residential schools, their own resources. UNICEF provided technical and vulnerable schoolchildren through online support to state-level PHED water quality channels. Where schools were used as quarantine laboratories on the production of hand sanitizers in and isolation centers, UNICEF advocated for deep multiple states, and trained Self-Help Groups cleaning and disinfection. Jharkhand developed (SHGs) on local soap production. UNICEF’s reopening protocols that were distributed to over compendium of handwashing designs, including 150,000 teachers, and Gujarat developed online e- foot-operated handwashing station designs, has modules to train and certify teachers on reopening been particularly successful and translated into protocols. National IEC materials for COVID local languages, inspiring local producers to start Responsive Behaviours (CRB) in schools have producing and installing these designs. also been developed for the MoE and a national training toolkit on SSPs is being converted to online Water Supply: UNICEF Jharkhand supported the modules. government in ensuring an uninterrupted supply of water to households, quarantine facilities, rural Monitoring: UNICEF supported states and communities, and shelter camps. In UP, Madhya districts by establishing trackers for monitoring Pradesh (MP), and Bihar, UNICEF provided WASH services and supplies. State-wide, real- technical support to ensure that handpumps time, monitoring systems (using Rapid Pro) remain functional and promoted social distancing collected feedback from sanitation cadres such as nudges (e.g. white circles around handpumps) at Swachhagrahis and Jalsurakshaks (over 55,000) community water points in multiple states. in Maharashtra and affected communities as well as migrants in UP. A dashboard was created to People on the move: In Maharashtra UNICEF help state government visualise the data and WASH colleagues coordinated the humanitarian COVID-19 WASH RESPONSE C/9/2021 Page 2 strengthen the role of functionaries (in states (e.g. MP, Maharashtra, Maharashtra). Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Jharkhand). Trainings: All 15 UNICEF-supported states have • The Ministry of Jal Shakti (MoJS) was provided training to almost 800,000 community supported to develop guidance on social service providers to date on the continuity of distancing post-lock down as well as WASH services and WASH aspects of COVID-19 guidance on the safety and use of PPE for prevention. UNICEF has supported extensive sanitation workers. capacity building and mobilization of Swachhagrahis, Panchayati Raj institutions (PRIs), • Partnerships with corporations (like SHGs, frontline workers (GLWs), and CSO Hindustan Unilever Limited, Godrey, and volunteers who have contributed to promoting RSPL) boosted the provision of critical hygiene messages reaching urban, rural, and WASH supplies (about 11 million bars of remote tribal populations. This has been done soap and 800,00 hand sanitizers) for through multiple online mediums including the states. The UNICEF State Office in COVID-19 Academy, a joint initiative by SPHERE Maharashtra leveraged more than India and supported by UNICEF. In UP, 260,000 250,000 USD for WASH essentials and outreach workers were trained with the support of medical equipment from corporates. The the WASH section; the government has since been UNICEF Jharkhand Office established a able to track their outreach activities on a daily partnership with Rotary Jharkhand to build basis. These workers have reached more than 20 handwashing stations in schools as part of million people in urban areas with COVID-19 the Safe School Protocol. prevention messages. • UNICEF state offices in Jharkhand and Advocacy: UNICEF successfully advocated with Bihar have supported the installation of the Government of India (via the Department of touch-free handwashing stations at HCFs, Drinking Water and Sanitation, Ministry of Jal public spaces, and quarantine facilities. In Shakti) for the issuance of guidance for the UP, UNICEF advocacy led to the ‘continuity of work for sanitation and hygiene installation of three, new, piped water activities during lockdown in rural areas under supply schemes in districts as well as the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) Open Defecation disinfection of 1,819 hand pumps located Free (ODF)+’ as well as for the safety of sanitation around temporary shelters and quarantine workers. Importantly, these advisories granted the centers. authorization to state governments to use part of the programme budgets for COVID-sensitive and COVID-specific interventions. Learning Challenges and constraints: Results achieved: • As the COVID-19 response was led by the • In partnership with government, NGOs, health sector, not all actors had expertise and CSR critical WASH services ranging on handwashing and hygiene or consulted from water and sanitation facilities to WASH agencies. It took time to include hygiene supplies (such as hand sanitizers, WASH agencies into the COVID-19 soaps, etc.) were provided to over 4.3 response. Given the health-led response million vulnerable communities in villages, by government, other line ministries