Volume-XII, Issue-III, May 2026 |
Three Decades of WASH Progress in South Asia: Evidence from Demographic and Health Surveys Dr. Suman Kharb, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Economics, Government College for Girls, Sector-14, Gurugram, Haryana, India |
Received: 13.04.2026 | Accepted: 20.05.2026 | Published Online: 31.05.2026 | Page No: 66-78 | ||||
DOI: 10.29032/ijhsss.vol.12.issue.03W.323 | |||||||
ABSTRACT | ||
Background: Access to improved sanitation, water and hygiene services has become a crucial aim in development agendas globally, including Sustainable Development Goals established by the United Nations. Sustainable Development Goals (SDG-6) target to ensure equitable and universal access to improved sanitation and safe drinking water to all by 2030. Although tremendous progress has been made by government globally and significant progress has been observed over recent decades still many countries in South Asia continue to face challenges in achieving universal access to WASH facilities. Material and Method: This study examines the long-term trend in access to clean water, improved sanitation and the prevalence of open defecation in three South Asian countries- Bangladesh, India and Nepal from the early 1990s to 2022. This paper uses nationally representative household survey data from Demographic and Health Survey Program. It applies descriptive trend analysis to examine changes in WASH indicators across these three countries with graphical interpretation and a logistic growth model is used to project the likely level of WASH facilities by 2030 across rural-urban areas and the highest and lowest wealth groups. Results: The findings show substantial improvement in WASH facilities across all countries. Bangladesh achieved mostly-universal access to improved drinking water and Nepal achieved the fastest growth in improves sanitation coverage and the sharpest reduction in open defecation practice. India also recorded significant progress though disparity exists across rural and lower income groups. Projection results indicate that only Nepal is among the three countries, which is likely to attain near-universal sanitation coverage by 2030. Conclusion: It emphasises the need of continues efforts, policy support and targeted interventions to eradicate remaining inequalities and achieve sustainable WASH facilities specially in India and Bangladesh. | ||
Keywords: Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), Open defecation, Demographic and Heath Survey (DHS), South Asia. |