Page 17 - MHM Report-2023
P. 17

TaTa WaTer Mission’s efforTs                      Mission in 2018 as it takes forward the concepts of
            Tata Water Mission (TWM) aims to create a         sanitation and hygiene and integrates them into
            healthy and water secure future for underserved   essential development aspects such as community
            communities by providing access to safe, assured,   health and reproductive health.
            and adequate water and improved hygiene services      The need for MHM-focused interventions
            through sustainable approaches covering 42        stemmed from the feedback the Tata Trusts’
            districts across 14 states.                       team received from women while implementing
                In the last five years, the Tata Water Mission   its extensive water and sanitation projects. The
            has touched over four million lives in over 5,000   MHM component has been added to the Mission’s
            villages of India. The Mission’s interventions    project locations where the team felt that it was a
            covered four core areas:                          necessary component of the sanitation and hygiene
             Improving water quality through affordable      programmes.
               and innovative technology interventions at the     The MHM programme builds on the community
               community and household levels,                and advocacy networks and resources that have
             Ensuring access to water and promoting          been created as part of the WaSH programmes.
               conservation for improving delivery at the     Through its existing programmes, Tata Water
               household level, while promoting community     Mission has covered extensive ground around:
               institutions for ensuring the sustainability of    Creation and strengthening of community-
               water systems,                                    based organisations (self-help groups, pani
             Promoting improved sanitation and hygiene          samitis, federations, etc.),
               practices through behavioural change, and       Creation of behaviour change campaigns for
             Building institutions by enhancing the             water management, sanitation and hygiene,
               knowledge of communities to ensure              Engagement with government bodies (local
               sustainability.                                   and state) and other state-level partners for
                However, it was felt that availability of water   advocacy of behaviour change models.
            can only be ensured by considering all aspects        The MHM programme thus builds on the
            of water in a holistic way during designing and   in-roads that Tata Water Mission has already
            implementation. This paved the way for the One    established in various communities. The team
            Water framework under the WaSH theme of Tata      leverages existing community relationships
            Water Mission.                                    for implementation of a holistic, scalable and
                The Tata Water Mission’s One Water            sustainable MHM programme in key states.
            philosophy is a community-centric approach to
            make villages and communities self-reliant for their   THe MensTrual HealTH & Hygiene
            drinking, domestic, irrigation and ecology-related   ManageMenT prograMMe
            water needs. One Water will facilitate integrated   The MHM programme of the Tata Trusts is
            planning and implementation of Tata Water         helping to deliver positive change across the value
            Mission’s programmes to provide safe, assured and   chain beliefs, behaviours, products and access.
            adequate drinking water and improved sanitation       The MHM programme was launched in 2018,
            and hygiene facilities to underserved rural       with pilot projects in two states — Uttarakhand
            communities.                                      and Rajasthan. Over time, the Trusts’ have
                Menstrual health & hygiene management         developed a multi-pronged approach to MHM
            (MHM) was added as an integral component of the   that addresses inter-connected issues such as



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