News & Impact Stories

Mali’s goal to allocate 5% of the national budget for water and sanitation – in line with levels set out in the SWA Framework – is moving closer thanks to improved financial tracking coupled with focused, multi-stakeholder sector dialogue. These moves resulted in large increases in public funding for water, sanitation and hygiene; the budget allocation for the sector tripled from 2017 to 2019. Mali started this process by developing national sector accounts using the TrackFin methodology in 2015, with support from SWA country partners, UNICEF and WaterAid. TrackFin produces clear, accessible

Zimbabwe witnessed a significant increase in the 2021 national water and sanitation budget, following SWA’s Finance Ministers’ Meeting (FMM) in 2020. The sector had originally expected a budget of ZWL$300 million for 2021/2022, so the announcement that it would be increased by two-thirds, to ZWL$ 500 million, was hailed as a big step towards better access to water and sanitation for the country. The country’s Ministry of Finance is allocating the increased funds to develop a long-awaited information management system for the sector, to guide evidence-based planning and budgeting. The funds

SWA partner the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC) provided short-term funding to selected SWA partner countries, targeted specifically to improve sector co-ordination and collaboration in those countries. The funding was agreed in 2019, through SWA’s Mutual Accountability Mechanism. The aims of the funding were to help countries engage their sectors beyond government, to encourage an increasingly multi-stakeholder approach to water, sanitation and hygiene. The funding helped WSSCC work with SWA to strengthen sector civil society networks in different ways in four

A 2018 ‘Global Review of National Accountability Mechanisms for SDG 6’ in Guinea identified poor consultation with civil society organizations and a general lack of co-ordination as a significant barrier to effective, multi-stakeholder participation in the sector. Since then, SWA partners in the country have pressed for the creation and development of effective accountability platforms and meaningful participation by civil society in the water and sanitation sector. Since the review, the Government of Guinea, UNICEF and civil society organizations have focused their efforts on strengthening

Conversations grounded in the SWA framework are moving the water, sanitation and hygiene sector forwards fast in Pakistan, one of the partnership’s founding members. Pakistan started using elements of the SWA framework in 2012, when a comprehensive multi-stakeholder approach was used to clarify sector responsibilities and commitments after water and sanitation mandates were devolved to the provinces. Those early conversations enabled SWA partners to engage the national water and sanitation ministry, helping them understand the gaps that existed in coordination and service delivery for the

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

A clearer sense of a broader, sharper sector strategy has emerged in Paraguay, with its water, sanitation and hygiene sector moving forwards on several priority areas for action. A number of factors have generated momentum in recent years. Ministers in charge of water and sanitation have patiently lobbied the ministry of finance, with SWA support. They have succeeded in giving the sector increased prominence in national budgetary considerations. The SWA Secretariat has helped the sector capitalize on this increased visibility, working with country partners and sector actors in Paraguay to

SWA launched the World Leaders’ ‘Call to Action’ in May 2020, to underscore and prioritize the role of water, sanitation and hygiene at the centre of the global response to COVID-19. The Call to Action was endorsed by more than 70 global leaders heading national governments, UN and other international organizations, civil society, international finance institutions, private sector, and the academia. It was a rallying cry – focusing minds on the vital role the sector would play, as the world faced its biggest health crisis in living memory. The Call to Action must be seen as one of the stepping

SWA private sector partners in Nigeria have launched ‘OPSWASH’ – a national body that co-ordinates private sector efforts and cultivates multi-stakeholder innovations in the water and sanitation sector. It has a specific focus on how the private sector can support the Government’s objective to end open defecation in the country by 2025. OPSWASH is an idea developed by Zenith Water Projects, whose representative attended SWA’s 2019 Sector Ministers’ Meeting and returned to Nigeria inspired to seek ways of increasing collaboration between the Government and wider stakeholders in the country’s

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

Colombia’s water, sanitation and hygiene sector has made strides forward after increased attention to its importance at the highest levels of decision-making. This has been encouraged with strong backing and encouragement from the SWA global partnership, including a country visit from SWA’s CEO in 2019. The Government has re-prioritized water and sanitation services to address inequalities, reducing the urban rural divide and supporting vulnerable populations. This includes significant water and sanitation infrastructure investment, targeted incentives, and improvements to regulations. SWA’s

The water, sanitation and hygiene sector has been an increasingly visible political priority in Liberia. SWA has supported high-level political engagement and accountability in the country’s sector for more than a decade. Back in 2011, the Government of Liberia created a ‘joint mission’ with SWA to shape, drive and galvanize support for the sector, with government officials, donors, civil society and others coming together to share their expertise and experience. Crucially, the joint mission was backed by President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. This high-level political platform helped engage all

Mali is a particularly engaged SWA partner country and, as a ‘pioneer country’, helped SWA ‘test’ the Mutual Accountability Mechanism. This is set against backdrop of a challenging political context and much upheaval in the past decade. Despite this, the sector has progressively strengthened its foundations, with much of this built around the SWA Framework and the Mutual Accountability Mechanism process. This has helped sector actors to create stable spaces and structures for dialogue, even in the midst of uncertainty. The Mali water, sanitation and hygiene sector has a reasonably strong Joint

One of the strengths of the Mutual Accountability Mechanism is that it can be adapted to fit even the most complex contexts. While the mechanism is not yet an established element of State of Palestine’s sector, its defining principles can help stakeholders picture how the sector might progress beyond a purely humanitarian response. These principles – in particular those of setting out clear sector priorities and defining multi-stakeholder responsibilities – are the key. The water, sanitation and hygiene sector in Palestine is currently coordinated, as it is in many other SWA partner countries

In Honduras, the Mutual Accountability Mechanism has played a key role in bringing the sector together to work on improving water, sanitation and hygiene. For example, a key objective of the Government is to update their National Drinking Water and Sanitation Plan (Plan Nacional de Agua y Saneamiento, or PLANASA), in order to give it the best chance of achieving the ambitions of the SDGs. The Mutual Accountability Mechanism has provided an opportunity for the Government to increase joint work on that plan, enriching it with the perspectives of a wider variety of stakeholders. The insights of