The water and sanitation ministers in Côte d’Ivoire have secured significant backing from their colleagues in government, by succeeding in protecting public funding for the sector. It has been confirmed that the sector’s budget for 2021 to 2023 will be considered as a three-year programme, rather than as individual one-year projects which are far more vulnerable to any changes in political and economic priorities.
Côte d’Ivoire’s minister for water was a key participant in the SWA Sector Ministers’ Meeting of 2019. Ahead of the meeting itself, SWA’s secretariat worked with focal points in country to explore the complex water, sanitation and hygiene issues faced by the country. The preparation process and briefings for the meeting helped engage the minister directly, encouraging even closer work with the sanitation minister to become champions for the sector in Côte d’Ivoire. It has also encouraged commitments to ambitious public goals, such as ensuring access to safe drinking water for 95 per cent of residents of urban and rural areas in 2022.
In Côte d’Ivoire, the water resources and sanitation ministers have championed water, sanitation and hygiene in such a way as to ensure that the sector continues to receive funding from the public purse even if there are changes at the ministerial level.
Working in such a coordinated and confident voice, the ministers’ advocacy works in an effective tandem. It has meant that the sector’s voice is heard louder at the heart of government: in the Council of Ministers meetings, in budget allocation sessions, and in the national assembly itself.
The results have already been significant – since the water, sanitation and hygiene budget is now agreed to run beyond the usual one year ‘project’ status, the sector can be assured that it will continue to receive funding from the public purse even if there are changes at the ministerial level. But more significantly, it also means that longer-term planning has been enabled for the sector, with huge implications for building sector progress to universal access to water and sanitation services in the decade ahead.