Water & Sanitation

The Significance

The access to clean and safe drinking water and basic sanitation has a big impact on the social and economic development of people. A significant number of health related problems arise from unsafe water and unhygienic conditions, and these problems can be devastating physically and financially for households, particularly in the low income and marginalized groups and the rural areas where access to good health services is limited. As per the Sustainable Development Goals all countries, including India should ‘achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all’ and by 2030, countries should also ‘achieve access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all and end open defecation, paying special attention to the needs of women and girls and those in vulnerable situations’.

The Government of India has been committed to ensure access to safe water and sanitation services to all. The Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation and the Ministry of Water Resources and Ganga Rejuvenation have been merged into the Jal Shakti Ministry, in an effort to boost the execution of government’s mission to provide clean and piped drinking water to every household in the country. The Government’s flagship scheme, Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (Clean India Mission) has a primary goal of ending open defecation and extending sanitation coverage across the country. There are however a number of challenges that the country has to address in order to achieve these goals. From inculcating hygienic practices within communities through extension and education, to improving the existing infrastructure and enabling environment, there is a lot to be done, and thus a number of organizations, both in government and private sectors are engaging in water and sanitation related interventions.

MART’s Experience

MART has considerable experience working in the water and sanitation sector. With an established experience in rural marketing over the past 26 years, MART Global Management Solutions LLP brings a unique expertise to projects pertaining to water and sanitation. From Awareness Generation on water and its problems, mass communication campaigns, to educating and establishing youth entrepreneurs for last mile distribution of water purification products, MART has created and implemented successful business models in water related interventions. MART has also successfully implemented business models for scaling rural sanitation, through the creation of affordable toilet designs and supported entrepreneurs to tap into the rural sanitation business by developing their business and marketing plan and establishing financial linkages. MART has also conducted assessments of water distribution channels, profiling of rural households and purifier customers for capturing behaviors and attitudes towards safe drinking water, mapping of sanitation ecosystems, among other projects. MART has worked with clients in both the government and private sector, including The World Bank, PATH India, Lafarge Holcim, Water Health International, Danone Communities, Panasonic India, Imerys, to name a few.

MART’s Commitment

• MART has a strong understanding of the rural socio-economics and is committed to getting to the root of the problem, in order to ensure that the best possible interventions are recommended and implemented.
• MART has a strong team of subject experts in water and natural resource management, and our affordable toilet design model, created by this team was recognized by the World Bank as an innovation that should be replicated.