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COVID-19 and informal settlements – implications for water, sanitation and health in India and Indonesia

Authors
  • Priti Parikh orcid logo (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 3 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.

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5Citations

Published on
06 Sep 2020
Peer Reviewed
License
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0

 Open peer review from Manu Mathur

Review

Review information

DOI:: 10.14293/S2199-1006.1.SOR-ENG.AFXD1C.v1.RNQAIU
License:
This work has been published open access under Creative Commons Attribution License CC BY 4.0 , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Conditions, terms of use and publishing policy can be found at www.scienceopen.com .

Keywords: Informal settlements , WASH , Policy and law , COVID-19 , infection pathways , The Environment , Indonesia , Water , India

Review text

Page 2: Last Paragraph: Lockdown in India happened in peak summers which is worth mentioning as it has implications for water scarcity.

Page 3: 1 st paragraph: Worth mentioning here the community spread of COVID 19 in Dharavi 9an urban slum of Mumbai).

Page 4: 1 st Paragraph: Factually incorrect. Areas where Covid19 cases are found are completely sealed by Government of India (Dharavi in Mumbai and other high population density areas). Consider altering the language of the opening statement.

Page 5: An important point to discuss here is that along with the interventions, an important thing is to empower communities so that they can make healthier choices.



Note:
This review refers to round of peer review and may pertain to an earlier version of the document.

 Open peer review from Samuel Godfrey

Review

Review information

DOI:: 10.14293/S2199-1006.1.SOR-ENG.AI0FZT.v1.RNOHLW
License:
This work has been published open access under Creative Commons Attribution License CC BY 4.0 , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Conditions, terms of use and publishing policy can be found at www.scienceopen.com .

Keywords: Informal settlements , WASH , Policy and law , COVID-19 , infection pathways , The Environment , Indonesia , Water , India

Review text

  1. The paper is an excellent contribution and is very timely and is recommended for publication
  2. The abstract could be strengthened by including some data from the WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme on current coverage of water supply, sanitation and hygiene in India and Indonesia using the SDG 6.1 and SDG 6.2 indicators,
  3. The introduction could also introduce some data or references to water supply coverage and microbial water quality. Earlier studies of Water Quality in India during the MDG period questioned the use of some of the Government access indicators https://www.researchgate.net/publication/225293967_Global_Access_to_Safe_Water_Accounting_for_Water_Quality_and_the_Resulting_Impact_on_MDG_Progress
  4. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20635198/
  5. The interventions for COVID-19 response could also consider some of the engineering considerations for designing non contact handwashing stations to avoid hand contact. Are there any examples in this study?
  6. COVID-19 also requires increased volumes of water in specific zones of cities (including increased domestic needs in peri urban and low income slums). The paper should mention some demand data and also how increased domestic demand volumes were met and or how water quality is addressed?
  7. Affordability of services is a key component of the SDG indicator – the paper would be strengthened by including some specific data on how services are being made more affordable in India and Indonesia.


Note:
This review refers to round of peer review and may pertain to an earlier version of the document.