Equity and inclusion

“I do not understand exactly why I went blind but I know it was to do with the water here. I go to fetch water – a child leads me there and I can carry it home." - Nyaama, Aurigo village, Ghana

Credit: WaterAid / Jon Spaull

WaterAid's report, Equity and inclusion, looks at who the excluded are and what causes exclusion. The report underscores WaterAid's commitment to addressing exclusion to ensure that the poorest and the most marginalised have access to safe water and sanitation.

Excluded people are those who have been systematically discriminated against for various reasons beyond their control. They include women, people with disabilities, people living with HIV/AIDS, children and the elderly.

Various factors contribute to people being excluded. Social factors, for instance, are deep-rooted in centuries of socio-cultural practices, while other factors tend to be dynamic, such as the economic and political. As well as exclusion from economic activity, exclusion from health and education creates a downward spiral of poverty with increasing effect.

Generally, there are two implications that the excluded face: their needs are not understood, appreciated or addressed, and they are usually voiceless and powerless. This can in turn lead to poor health outcomes, high absenteeism and dropout rates in school, increased economic burden and limited livelihood options, and discrimination and marginalisation - all further entrenching conditions of poverty.

As discussed in Equity and inclusion, WaterAid is increasingly taking a 'rights-based' approach to address the immediate, intermediate and fundamental causes of exclusion, and to ensure the poor and excluded receive their rights to basic services, such as water and sanitation.

WaterAid and its partners have a critical role to play in ensuring that the needs and rights of the excluded and marginalised are understood and prioritised by governments and donors, and that these people are not left out of the race to meet quantitative targets, such as those set in the Millennium Development Goals.

Equity and inclusion are therefore defining principles of our work. Equity takes into consideration diverse needs of different sections of communities, aiming at approaches that respond to specific needs. Inclusion takes the form of affirmative action - reversing the downward spiral of poverty.

Download the full report to read more about the impacts of exclusion and WaterAid's commitment to equity and inclusion ( PDF 269Kb).