Cartoon Calendar Highlighting the Critical Role of Gender in Water and Sanitation

From the World Bank Water and Sanitation Program (WSP), this 2012 calendar features cartoons for each month depicting water and sanitation challenges from a gender perspective. The goal is to use a vivid visual medium - with very few words - to call attention to some of the social norms that result from, and reinforce, poor service quality. It is motivated by evidence such as that presented in the World Bank's 2012 World Development Report, which shows that when services fail, women and girls are disproportionately affected. For example, hours spent fetching water each day leave less time to pursue economic activities and reinforces employment segregation. And if schools are equipped with safe, private sanitation facilities, girls are more likely to stay in school.

Artists from around the world helped us craft these messages "with creativity and passion, while staying true to the calendar's tradition of raising awareness through humor." Each month's cartoon features a caption with facts and/or information, such as this one: "Giving power to women at the local level through political representation has led to increased provision of public goods, especially in water supply and sanitation."

There are no more printed copies for distribution in 2012, but the cartoons featured in the calendar can be viewed at the URL below. To request a hard copy in future years, the call for requests can be found by signing up to WSP's email distribution list here.