News & Impact Stories

In Paraguay, the Mutual Accountability Mechanism has improved engagement between stakeholders, and provided for a shared understanding of the needs of the water and sanitation sector. For the Government, the mechanism has been a means to set out its key sector priorities and to form a basis for conversations with other sector actors. The Mutual Accountability Mechanism has also strengthened the structures within which to work, building momentum and raising visibility for Paraguay’s ambitions to achieve significant increases in levels of water and sanitation coverage. Both the Government and

In Lao PDR, the SWA Finance Minister’s Meetings of 2020 galvanized sector discussions, offering an opportunity for increased multi-stakeholder dialogue on sector priorities. As part of these discussions, the Government, through the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Public Works and Transport, drafted and submitted commitments under the Mutual Accountability Mechanism. These focused on ending open defecation nationwide, as well as establishing a multi-stakeholder committee for the sector and a dedicated national fund for the water, sanitation and hygiene. Stakeholders engaged in those

In Malawi, the Mutual Accountability Mechanism process has helped to increase engagement and improve joint responsibility in the water, sanitation and hygiene sector – and beyond. Malawi has always sought to identify areas for process improvement, and the Mutual Accountability Mechanism has helped to develop a response to this ambition, adjusting and improving existing review and coordination platforms so that they now work better for the sector. The Mutual Accountability Mechanism has increased collaboration both inside and outside the sector, which has had a significant impact on sector

In the Central African Republic, the Mutual Accountability Mechanism has helped stakeholders to position and keep the water, sanitation and hygiene sector as a high government priority, and to mobilize resources. In 2019, the Government developed its Mutual Accountability Mechanism commitments to align with national objectives outlined in the Plan du Relèvement et la Consolidation de la Paix (‘Plan for Recovery and Peacebuilding’). They commit the Government to: providing access to services for an additional 500,000 people; creating a dedicated budget line for sanitation and hygiene; and

The Zimbabwean water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) sector is celebrating a massive increase in the 2021 national WASH budget, following the successful Sanitation and Water for All (SWA) Finance Ministers' Meeting (FMM) in 2020. The sector had originally proposed a budget of ZWL$300 million (829, 000 USD) for the fiscal year 2021/2022, however, they were happily surprised by the announcement that the budget would be increased to ZWL$500 million (1.38 million USD). This is the first time that the Ministry of Finance is allocating funds to support the establishment of an information management

In November 2020, Sanitation and Water for All (SWA) organized the Finance Ministers Meeting (FMM) for Latin American Countries. The meeting brought together ministers of finance, alongside their water, sanitation and hygiene counterparts, to discuss financing for the sector. The meetings highlighted financing and investment strategies, and approaches to integrate water, sanitation and hygiene into economic and social programmes. Haiti’s National Directorate of Potable Water and Sanitation (DINEPA) is an autonomous state agency under the supervision of the Ministry of Public Works, Transport