From a systems lens, equity and inclusion aren't layers to be added – they are the infrastructure and logic upon which sustainable systems must be built
Ruchika Shiva, Director Global Hub and Asia Hub ( regional programme)
Ruchika Shiva came to her work through the people that public services most often miss. Before joining Riva, she worked on rights of children in difficult circumstances, including street children in Delhi and ran advocacy campaigns on girls' right to education. That background gave her a conviction that ripples through all of her work: a system that doesn’t reach everyone isn’t finished yet.
Ruchika works with the governments and institutions that deliver essential services – village councils deciding how to allocate and spent water budgets, city utilities trying to reach informal settlements, state governments understanding where money flows through their systems and where it stops. She helps them close the gap between what their systems promise and what communities actually receive: by building better evidence, strengthening governance, and designing services with the people most likely to be left out.
Nineteen years working in India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Cambodia have given Ruchika a deep understanding of how this region's institutions work – and where they fail. She firmly believes that the first question we should ask is: who is this system designed for? Ruchika’s 2025 paper on gender equity and social inclusion, now a WASH Systems Academy course, has shifted how practitioners across six countries work. She holds an MA in Social Work from Delhi University, is fluent in English and Hindi, and is based in Delhi.
A few highlights
- 19 years in development; 11 years leading Riva's Asia programme across India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Cambodia
- Systems leadership for water-secure cities – Water4Change programme with city governments in Bhopal, Bhuj and Kozhikode
- Climate resilience and institutional strengthening in four climate hotspots in Bangladesh, in partnership with BRAC, supported by the Dutch Embassy
- Lead for gender equity and social inclusion across the FCDO WASH Systems for Health programme in six countries
- Co-author of the 2025 learning note on GESI-responsive systems strengthening which is also the basis for a WASH Systems Academy course
- Working languages: English and Hindi