Joep Verhagen is a Senior Water and Sanitation Specialist in the Water Global Practice of the World Bank. He has worked in the WASH sector for the last 20 years with a particular interest in rural sanitation. Following on a 10-year stint as an independent consultant in India, he joined the International Rescue Committee (IRC) in 2005. Within IRC, he focused on support for large-scale rural sanitation programmes and worked on a range of issues. He was also leading a capacity development programme for senior officials of the Government of India. In addition, he was the project director of the IRC-lead technical assistance project to the BRAC WASH II programme.