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

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