COVID-19 and Informal Settlements - Implications for Water, Sanitation and Health in India and Indonesia
- Priti Parikh (University College London, Engineering for International Development Centre, Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering, 2 Taviton Street, London WC1H 0BT, UK)
- Yasmin Bou Karim (Aceso Global Health Consultants Ltd, London, UK)
- Jacob Paulose (University College London, Institute for Environmental Design and Engineering, London, UK)
- Pam Factor-Litvak (Department of Epidemiology, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA)
- Emily Nix (University College London, Institute for Environmental Design and Engineering, London, UK)
- Dewi Nur Aisyah (Indonesia One Health University Network, Jakarta, Indonesia)
- Hemant Chaturvedi (Aceso Global Health Consultants Ltd, London, UK)
- Logan Manikam (Aceso Global Health Consultants Ltd, London, UK)
- Monica Lakhanpaul (Population, Policy and Practice, University College London, Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, UK)
This is version 1 of this article, the published version can be found at: https://doi.org/10.14324/111.444/ucloe.000011
Abstract
Informal settlements are home to over 1 billion people worldwide and are characterised by high population densities and poor environmental conditions. The authors identify the impact of COVID-19 on existing water and sanitation practices and potential pathways for the transmission of COVID-19 in informal settlements in India and Indonesia. In the short term, there is an urgent need for mobile and contactless hand washing, washing/bathing facilities and toilets. In the long term, COVID-19 provides an opportunity to invest in centralised water and sanitation networked solutions appropriate for high-density settings to integrate those settlements into cities and improve environmental conditions and health in these cities.Keywords: COVID-19, WASH, informal settlements, India, Indonesia, infection pathways, water, the environment, policy and law
Rights: © 2020 The Authors.