Traditional attempts to increase coverage of basic services such as water and sanitation have marginalised or excluded the needs of disabled people. This is despite the fact that some 10% of the Nepali population, including one in six poor people, can be considered to have some kind of impairment. This paper reviews the social, technical, financial and policy barriers to meeting the needs of disabled people. It considers the consequences of this neglect on health, dignity and economic and social exclusion, and especially the impact on women. The experiences of WaterAid Nepal and its partners in supporting differently able people without access to water and sanitation are set out and solutions to overcome the barriers are put forward. The document concludes by recommending improved coordination and collaboration in the sector to increase focus on and improve delivery of water and sanitation services to disabled people.

WaterAid Nepal (WAN) has been working in the water and sanitation sector since its establishment in 1987. It has supported more than 800 rural and 100 urban communities in accessing water and sanitation services. WAN has included a Gender and Social Inclusion Approach within its water and sanitation projects to ensure the active participation and inclusion of people of different economic and social status.

People facing disability are a part of every community throughout the world. Assessments have clearly shown a correlation between the poorest section of society and disability, with the prevalence of impairments found to be highest amongst the poorest section of society. With one out of every six poor people likely to have some form of impairment, almost every poor family is likely to contain a person with a physical impairment.  It is estimated that there are about 2.4 to 2.5 million people living with impairments in Nepal, which is about 10% of the total population