Mutual Accountability Mechanism
Mutual Accountability Mechanism
Accountability is central to the SWA partnership. It is the willingness to accept responsibility for one’s actions and account for them to others. It is a requirement for progress and a human rights principle.
Accountability is about how promises are translated into action and aspirations into reality. While States ultimately have an obligation to ensure the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation, all stakeholders have a role to play in moving our societies toward the vision laid out in the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda.
In response to this need, the Sanitation and Water for All partnership has created the Mutual Accountability Mechanism: a tool for partners to commit and hold each other to account for progress in achieving the SDGs’ water and sanitation targets – as well as an opportunity to collaborate, learn and catalyze collective action.
Make a commitment Report progress
What is the Mutual Accountability Mechanism?
SWA’s Mutual Accountability Mechanism (MAM) is the only global accountability process in the water, sanitation and hygiene sector that is dedicated to all stakeholders working together towards achieving universal access to water and sanitation services. The mechanism helps to set priorities and a shared vision for the sector, as well as to identify roles and responsibilities for achieving them.
The MAM provides a process for all partners to make commitments and hold each other to account on the specific, measurable, time-bound actions they plan to take to achieve their targets set on the road to reaching the Sustainable Development Goal 6.
Commitments tabled under the MAM are based on national policies and enable monitoring. In just four years since the mechanism’s launch, over 400 commitments have been tabled, with half of them coming from 60 national governments.
COMMITMENTS
Government
External Support Agencies
Civil Society
Research and Learning
Private Sector
| Country | Constituency | Body / Organizations | Commitment | Target year | Progress |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Global | Research and Learning | WaterAid | In countries where we work, WaterAid will support progress in government-led policies, standards and plans that tackle and challenge the inequalities that prevent the poorest and most marginalised people from realising their right to safe water, sanitation and hygiene. | 2022 | |
| Global | Research and Learning | Water Institute at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill (UNC) | We commit to work in partnership with other members of the R&L constituency who share our values and standards and agree to support establishment of collaborative behaviors specific to the R&L constituency. | 2020 | |
| Global | Research and Learning | WaterAid | In countries where we work, WaterAid will support governments and service providers to strengthen the systems and capabilities required to deliver sustainable WASH services. | 2022 | |
| Global | Research and Learning | Water Institute at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill (UNC) | We commit to reporting findings in a transparent, reproducible, and objective manner. We will reflect and communicate legitimate implications from our research studies relevant to all stakeholders (e.g., according to SWA constituency or actor types). | 2020 | |
| Global | Research and Learning | Water Institute at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill (UNC) | We commit to support and ensure accountability in recruitment efforts for additional global and in-country R&L institutions to ensure the makeup of the R&L constituency is adequate and sufficient to support SWA. We agree to mentor new partners to engage more systematically in the constituency and SWA as a whole. | 2020 | |
| Global | Research and Learning | WaterAid | In countries where we work, WaterAid will work with others to develop plans and activities that accelerate change by integrating water, sanitation and hygiene into sustainable and national development plans. | 2022 | |
| Global | Research and Learning | Water Institute at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill (UNC) | We commit to listen and respond to requests for information from fellow SWA partners and stakeholders. | 2020 | |
| Global | Research and Learning | Water Institute at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill (UNC) | We commit to seeking equivalent commitments from other R&L partners. | 2020 |
Explore our Partner countries
Line of Control as promulgated in the 1972 SIMLA Agreement
Dotted line represents approximately the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir agreed upon by India and Pakistan. The final status of Jammu and Kashmir has not been agreed upon by the parties
The boundaries and names shown on this map do not imply official endorsement or acceptance by the United Nations
Why should my government or organization participate?
The Mutual Accountability Mechanism provides a concrete entry point for dialogue, transparency, and coordination. It is an opportunity for stakeholders to sit around the table to plan, mutually commit to act in a coordinated way, and improve the Sustainable Development Goal 6 outcomes through collaborative efforts. The MAM provides a framework for tracking progress and increasing the visibility of water, sanitation and hygiene initiatives, nationally and globally.
Global Accountability Report 2024
COMMUNICATION TOOLKIT
Documents
View all Key documents| Key documents | Type |
|---|---|
| Mutual Accountability Mechanism Global Report 2023 | |
| MAM commitments in focus: Gender | |
| MAM Commitments in focus of Latin America and the Caribbean | |
| Mutual Accountability Mechanism: Finance Commitments Analysis for Africa | |
| SWA and finance |