The need of the hour: Providing water in shared toilet facilities for menstrual hygiene management in urban India

Abstract

Shared sanitation services continue to expand in India's growing cities, yet, these facilities are blighted by issues including lack of privacy, overflow of raw sewage, and notably, a lack of water supply. Access to water in shared toilets for menstruating women and girls to wash themselves, their reusable menstrual products, their stained clothes, and sanitation infrastructure is a critical but all too-often neglected aspect of menstrual hygiene management (MHM). Drawing on the existing literature and data from Maharashtra, this commentary article uses the example of urban India to highlight the ‘need of the hour’, the provision of water in shared sanitation facilities in the global South for MHM as and when required. Evidence-based water supply norms in shared sanitation for MHM, from menarche to the perimenopause, are key, to highlight the need for water as an ‘MHM plus’ requirement for women and girls reliant on shared facilities. Connecting shared toilets to piped water is a long-term process, but the provision of water in buckets is a start. Hygiene promotion can create awareness of the importance of water for sustainable MHM. Monitoring and evaluation can determine the impact of supplying water in shared toilets on MHM. HIGHLIGHTS Water supply is needed for menstrual hygiene management (MHM).; The supply of water for MHM is neglected in shared toilets.; Providing water in shared toilets can improve MHM and reproductive health, support women and girls dependent on community and public toilets, encourage sustainable MHM, and reduce menstrual waste.; Evidence-based water supply norms for MHM should support policymaking to provide water supply in shared sanitation services.;

Keywords

• community and public toilets
• india
• menstrual hygiene
• urban sanitation
• water supply