The Democratic Republic of the Congo drafted and validated a national water, sanitation and hygiene framework programme (the ‘PNEHA’) in an impressive four months. The PNEHA development process involved high-level prioritization from decision makers, including all sector-related ministries and the advisor of the president. But a key element of its success was its focus on gathering inputs from a wide range of stakeholders. This multi-stakeholder engagement included outlining commitments to delivering the framework using SWA’s Mutual Accountability Mechanism. The mechanism was seen as comprehensive, ready-made tool; a clear, effective way to coordinate responsibilities and increase accountability between all stakeholders.
The access levels of DRC’s population to drinking water, sanitation and hygiene are among the lowest on the continent. The PNEHA framework comes in a context of severe resource constraints and high fragmentation of the actions undertaken by different sector partners, including governments and external support agencies. The framework focuses the sector on the concerted, constructive efforts needed to rectify the situation and make the sector investment-worthy for technical and funding partners.
The SWA mission to DRC helped advocate for the new national WASH framework with the sector actors – including the concerned ministries and the donors.
SWA supported the development and publication of the PNEHA framework. It provided technical inputs into the drafts, including similar experiences in other SWA partner countries for information and inspiration. It also helped prepare for the framework’s publication, through a country visit, and by briefing donors and in-country partners. SWA has also actively supported defining how the framework can be implemented. This has included through identification of key activities, roles of different partners, and developing monitoring and evaluation processes.
The development process for the framework helped forge closer links within the sector. Having formulated a commitment under the SWA’s Mutual Accountability Mechanism to develop a roadmap for the sector, the PNEHA achieves and exceeds this commitment – with the PNEHA, the country now possesses a 10-year vision for the sector. The PNEHA compiles several sub-sector programmes under one programme, strengthening synergies between different actors.