Updated baseline information of the working districts under the Global Sanitation Fund (GSF) Programme is very much essential for effective planning, implementation and monitoring and evaluation. Although the water and sanitation sector has established a database on the water and sanitation which is generally referred to as National Management Information Project (NMIP) and in addition MPPW has MIS system in place, a regular updating of the database has always been a challenge. Referring to this, the baseline survey which is being conducted in the five working districts and five municipalities of GSF Programme Nepal is to support the NMIP database and getting an updated data on the water and sanitation. UN-Habitat Nepal has started to collect the baseline data for the implementation of Global Sanitation Fund (GSF) programme in Nepal under the aegis of Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC) Geneva. Under the first phase, Bajura and Bardiya district including Gulariya from Bardiya district and Tikapur Municipality from adjoining district Kailali are taken for the collection, updating and verification of baseline data on sanitation and hygiene of schools, institutions and communities. Development Resource Centre (DRC) as a service provider has shouldered the responsibility of carrying out the job in close coordination with UN-Habitat Nepal‘s GSF Programme and respective District/Municipality-Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene- Coordination Committees (D/M-WASH-CCs). A two day's orientation training cum workshop to the enumerators has already been completed in Gulariya and Martadi-the district headquarters of Bardiya and Bajura district respectively as a kick off workshop to start the baseline survey. Altogether 32 enumerators including 23 women representing indigenous and Dalit (oppressed caste) actively took part in the orientation workshop. In both the workshops held at different dates (23-24 October in Bardiya and 18-19 November in Bajura) Chiefs from District Administrative Office, District Public Heath Office, District Education Office, Women Development Office, Water Supply and Sanitation Division Office and Office of the District Development Committee delivered some words of wisdom for information and motivation to the participants. They also made commitments for possible support from their part for the successful completion of the baseline survey as well as implementation of GSF program activities. Local Development Officer and chair person of D-WASH-CC from respective districts chaired the inauguration session at both the occasions. There is no denying the fact that this orientation event will be a mile stone for successful implementation of GSF program and making the district Open Defecation Free, opined all. The stakeholders from the district including line agency chiefs have been optimistic about the fact that this will provide in insight in to formulating a pragmatic district, VDC and Municipality WASH strategic plan/plan of action in line with Sanitation and Hygiene Master Plan 2011 and strenghening coordination, cooperation and ownership. A multifarious team from DRC with M&E Specialist and Sociologist from GSF program, UN-Habitat facilitated the sessions. Sensitizing sessions regarding sanitation and hygiene were also carried out in a bid to prepare the participants (enumerators) as motivators and activists to back up sanitation movement in the district in the days ahead. The first phase of the baseline survey is to be completed within the second week of December .