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.
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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 | WaterAid will take steps to better track our implementation of the SWA Collaborative Behaviours. As a starting point, we will ensure that by the 2020 Global Analysis and Assessment of Sanitation and Drinking Water (GLAAS) cycle we are better able to report on GLAAS indicators for Mutual Accountability, Government Leadership and Strengthening country systems across our country programmes. | 2020 | |
| Global | Research and Learning | Water Institute at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill (UNC) | We commit to adhere to highest ethical standards by conducting business according to the UNC-wide honor code (http://catalog.unc.edu/policies-procedures/honor-code/) and standard practice for Research Institutions. | 2020 | |
| Global | Research and Learning | IRC | While masterplans are being implemented, support the local governments in our partner districts (Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana and Uganda) in project and finance identification, monitoring – including paying special attention to LNOB - addressing root causes of exclusion (2021). | 2021 | |
| Global | Research and Learning | IRC | Support our partner districts in Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana and Uganda to provide safely managed WASH services to all by 2030. Our support will include the following activities: - Ensure that all districts have public territorial master plans for universal access (2019); - and that the master plans are implemented; support local authorities concerning, on the one hand, the identification of projects and financing and, on the other hand, monitoring (2021); - Be particularly careful not to leave anyone behind; tackling the root causes of exclusion; - Strengthen the capacities of local authorities and other actors; - Support collective actions in the districts through advocacy, holding events and communication and knowledge management activities; - Actively communicate lessons learned in national and international forums. | 2021 | |
| Global | Research and Learning | Water Witness International | Strengthen accountability, collaboration and knowledge to harness the power of trade, enterprise, and communities for SDG 6 delivery and Fair Water Footprints: zero pollution, sustainable withdrawals, universal WASH, protection of nature and climate resilience by 2030. | 2030 | |
| Global | Research and Learning | SIWI | Continue developing evidence, and guidance/tools for systems strengthening related to water and sanitation services. These might include among others, frameworks for the integration of climate in WASH, linking water-sanitation-hygiene programming with water resource management, improved service delivery models, and others. | 2023 | |
| Global | Research and Learning | UTS Institute for Sustainable Futures | UTS-ISF will partner effectively with governments, civil society, international agencies, donors, private sector, utilities and regulators in countries where we work in Asia and the Pacific to conduct co-designed, demand-driven, transdisciplinary research, including linkages to other sectors such as water resources management and climate. We will also actively engage with partners on implications and recommendations that arise from the evidence produced. | 2023 | |
| Global | Research and Learning | SIWI | Support governance strengthening for universal, sustainable, and resilient water and sanitation services in countries where we work, directly, or with other partners. These might include among others, capacity development, support for risk informed governance analysis, support for new climate and WASH policies, development of national or local plans, coordination mechanisms, regulation and accountability. | 2023 |
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 |
|---|---|
| MAM Research 1: Strengthening Mutual Accountability in Partnerships for WASH - Literature review and learning from other sectors | |
| MAM Research 2: Strengthening Mutual Accountability in Partnerships for WASH - Summary of six country case studies | |
| Somalia Country brief: Strengthening mutual accountability and partnerships for WASH | |
| Peru Country brief: Strengthening mutual accountability and partnerships for WASH | |
| Kenya Country brief: Strengthening mutual accountability and partnerships for WASH |