Rajakumar Baskar A

Rajakumar Baskar holds a Master of Social Work (MSW) degree with a specialisation in medical and psychiatric social work. He is a seasoned development professional boasting over two decades of expertise in the field of health and sanitation.

His primary domain of work revolves around City-wide Inclusive Sanitation (CWIS), Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH), Capacity Building and Training Programme (CBTP), Social and Behavior Change Communication (SBCC), and Communication, Advocacy, and Partnership (CAP).

Since March 2022, Rajakumar has been contributing his expertise to the Indian Institute for Human Settlements (IIHS) as a specialist in social development within the City-wide Inclusive Sanitation project in Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu. In this role, he plays a vital part in the strategic implementation of sanitation programmes and projects targeting urban poor settlements. His primary focus areas are improving access of the urban poor to community and public toilet (CT/PT) services and underground sewerage system (UGSS) last-mile connectivity; improving welfare, livelihood, health and wellbeing, occupational health, and safety of sanitation workers and their family members; gender inclusive sanitation and POSH grievance redressal in Trichy City Corporation (TCC).

Since May 2023, Rajakumar has been contributing to IIHS as a key professional/programme manager in the Capacity Building and Training programme for the Urban Sector in Tamil Nadu–Package II–Urban Sanitation Management. In this role, he plays a vital part in the ongoing capacity building initiatives to train urban sector officials on emerging development and best practices in urban management. His primary focus is on conducting regional directorate-level, state-level and national-level training for various government officials like, Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC), municipal corporations, municipalities, town panchayats, Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB), Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage Board (TWAD Board), Directorate of Municipal Administration (DMA) and Directorate of Town Panchayat (DTP).

During his tenure (from September 2012 to February 2022) as a state consultant at the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Chennai, Rajakumar worked closely with the Department of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (RD&PR) and focused on critical functional areas such as Swachh Bharat Mission-Gramin, WASH initiatives in schools and anganwadi centres (WinS & WinA) as well as emergency response efforts. He has earned recognition from UNICEF and the State Institute of Rural Development (SIRD) as a state-level resource person for rural sanitation initiatives. He also worked intensively with the Directorate of Public Health and Preventive Medicine (DPH&PM) during the COVID-19 pandemic period and contributed to COVID-19 appropriate behavior (CAB) and vaccination. His extensive knowledge encompasses various sanitation technologies and capacity-building methodologies.

In his role (2007–09) as a district programme manager (DPM) in Tamil Nadu State AIDS Control Society (TANSACS), he managed 40 Integrated counselling and testing centres (ICTCs), 4 sexually transmitted disease (STD) clinics, 10 blood banks, 1 antiretroviral therapy (ART) centre, more than 10 NGO partners in Tirunelveli district, and provided good quality services to people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHIV).

From 2000 to 2006, Rajakumar dedicated his efforts to HIV projects with various civil society organisations, progressively advancing him to district-level positions and honing his expertise.