Wellbeing and Occupational Health and Safety of Sanitation Workers in Trichy

Sugantha Priscilla L, Mercy Clara D, Amala Jancy C Rani, Rajeswari R, Niladri Chakraborti, L Ambalavanan, M Kannan, Arko Sinha, Kavita Wankhade  | 2023 

Summary

While the sanitation sector has received much-welcome attention in recent years, the safety and well-being of sanitation workers remain neglected. City Wide Inclusive Sanitation (CWIS) in Trichy, implemented by IIHS-led TNUSSP, tried to understand the various challenges sanitation workers face. The programme tried to uplift more than 3,000 sanitation workers through a holistic intervention focusing on social welfare, health, livelihoods, and occupational safety. The paper discusses the learnings from the interventions, shares emerging impacts, and broadly lays out the way forward.