Provision of basic water supply and sanitation facilities to people, especially living in rural areas and urban slums is still a major concern for Governments, UN and other agencies working for their welfare in the developing countries. Absence of these basic facilities leads to poor health and also affects the livelihood of the poor and vulnerable communities, and especially children are the worst sufferers. Recent studies carried out by UNICEF/WHO indicates that the sanitation MDG target is going to be missed with most of the un-served populations in rural Africa and Asia.

Capacity building initiatives at all levels play a very important role in the provision and management of water and sanitation services. In reality, most of these skills are not gained through formal education, it has been noticed that the professionals acquire these skills & knowledge over the year through their work experience and association in the sector. Also, low priority and poor importance given to WATSAN curriculum in the formal educational institutions to address the issues especially being faced by the low-income communities both at rural and urban areas is a matter of concern in the South Asia region. Also, there is a greater need for promoting social engineering aspects, both at implementation and educational level to address people friendly sustainable solution. Unlike in India and other developing countries in the region, the universities in the west (WEDC, Surrey, Grandfield in the UK, and IHE in The Netherlands) have several tailor made courses focussed on these issues both on short and long term basis. But these courses are unaffordable by many due to huge financial implications.

Issues such as fast depletion of ground water, water quality issues, poor sanitation coverage, poor focus on hygiene, problems in dealing in solid and liquid waste, fast urbanisation, emerging issues due to climate change etc., demand adequate human resources with necessary capacity, some how this aspect is not being given priority. Addressing the capacity gaps assumes significant importance with the growing complexities around the provision and management of water and sanitation facilities in the region. Apart from capacity building initiatives for the people already associated in the sector, grooming younger generation / students is of prime importance towards achieving sustainable water and sanitation solution in the region.

In order to address the above issues, along with WaterAid, Winrock International (India), WEDC, SIWI, IRC and SEI, Plan India is taking a lead role under the framework of “WASH Institute”. It is aimed to organize both non-formal and formal courses on “Water and Environmental Sanitation” through partnership with NGOs/INGOs, Government training institutes and academic institutions. WASH Institute aims to cater to the capacity building needs in India and the neighbouring countries in the region.