Jun 2020 – Rural Water Supply Network

Les populations rurales peuvent-elles payer pour l’eau en temps de crise ?

Les co-auteurs de ce blog invité sont le Professeur Rob Hope (REACH Programme) et le Dr Guy Hutton (UNICEF). Une version de ce blog an anglais est disponible sur le site web du programme REACH.

Rendre l’eau potable abordable pour les populations rurales a toujours été un défi. La COVID-19 exerce des pressions urgentes sur les gouvernements, les prestataires de services et les utilisateurs d’eau en milieu rural qui ont des besoins prioritaires en eau pour se laver les mains à la maison, dans les écoles et dans les établissements de santé.

Le 23 juin, le programme REACH et l’UNICEF ont organisé un webinaire en partenariat avec le RWSN afin de présenter de nouvelles données sur l’évolution de la demande et des revenus de l’eau, et d’étudier comment mesurer l’accessibilité économique de l’eau dans le but d’améliorer les réponses politiques et programmatiques. Le webinaire complet est accessible ici.

Nous avons identifié cinq leçons clés que nous présentons ci-dessous, en réponse à la question: Les populations rurales peuvent-elles payer pour l’eau en temps de crise ?

Leçon 1 – Cela est possible. L’expérience de la République centrafricaine (RCA) a mis en évidence un modèle de prestation de services professionnels qui a permis de fournir des services d’eau fiables pendant de nombreuses années à échelle, malgré la guerre civile et la stagnation économique. Des pays comme l’Inde sont en train d’étendre une plateforme de suivi pour améliorer les réponses, soutenue par des prestataires de services gouvernementaux établis sur place.

Leçon 2 – C’est plus difficile en temps de crise. Les pays sans données et sans réseau de prestataires de services responsabilisés sont confrontés à des choix plus difficiles. L’approvisionnement en eau, imposé par la loi, les politiques et la réglementation, est limité en l’absence de prestataires de services déjà établis au niveau local. Les prestataires informels, tels que les vendeurs, peuvent desservir des populations éloignées en temps normal, mais leur capacité à fournir de l’eau pendant la pandémie de la COVID-19 est limitée en raison des restrictions de voyage. Les règles doivent rester souples.

Leçon 3 – Les populations pauvres sont les plus vulnérables. Les données mondiales ont illustré les coûts plus élevés que payent les groupes aux revenus les plus faibles au Ghana, au Cambodge, au Pakistan et en Zambie, ainsi que les coûts importants liés au temps passé à transporter de l’eau, qui sont plus élevés pour les déciles aux revenus les plus faibles. La conception de tarifs mensuels plutôt que volumétriques peut éviter une contrainte de revenu liée à l’augmentation de l’eau pour les besoins d’hygiène. Les inondations et les sécheresses présentent un risque supplémentaire important. Le suivi des données est ainsi un outil clé permettant de fournir une alerte précoce pour cibler les ressources afin de limiter les dommages.

Leçon 4 – Assurer un financement durable. Une eau fiable peut coûter moins d’un dollar par personne et par an. Mais cela nécessite une subvention pour les prestataires de services locaux et les utilisateurs d’eau ont besoin d’un soutien pour maintenir les services en fonctionnement. Une large proportion des populations rurales ne paie pas l’eau aujourd’hui par choix ou en raison d’inégalités. Il a été noté que les gouvernements ne peuvent pas se permettre de ne pas assurer l’accès à l’eau pour les populations. Mais une “eau gratuite” causerait plus de tort, mettant en péril la capacité des prestataires à fournir et à maintenir des services pour tous. Il s’agit là de choix difficiles et les décisions dépendront du contexte.

Leçon 5 – Mieux reconstruire. La COVID-19 a mis en évidence les faiblesses connues de l’ approvisionnement en eau en milieu rural. Investir dans des prestataires de services locaux et responsabilisés est un élément clé de toute stratégie de durabilité. Les écoles et les établissements de santé sont au cœur de ce vaste réseau de services et constituent une priorité essentielle. Ces institutions partagent souvent des infrastructures hydrauliques avec les communautés rurales, et pourraient constituer un élément central et stratégique de l’approvisionnement en eau pour tous.

Le webinaire s’est déroulé en deux parties sur une durée d’une heure et demie. Tout d’abord, un aperçu du débat et des caractéristiques de l’accessibilité financière par le professeur Rob Hope (Université d’Oxford), présenté par Alice Chautard avant les présentations du Dr Guy Hutton (UNICEF), Andrew Armstrong (Université d’Oxford)et le Dr Sonia Hoque (Université d’Oxford). Cette présentation a été suivie par une session de questions-réponses facilitée par Alice Chautard. Le webinaire complet est accessible ici.

Si vous avez des questions ou des commentaires, n’hésitez pas à nous écrire : reach@water.ox.ac.uk et vous pouvez nous trouver sur Twitter @REACHWater @UNICEFWater @RuralWaterNet. Crédits photo: Mary Musenya Sammy et Cliff Nyaga.

The need for professional associations for water well drillers

This is a guest blog by RWSN Young Professional Uyoyoghene U. Traoré, geologist and freelance consultant in water and environment. This article was originally published in GeoDrilling international and is reposted with thanks. You can read the original article here.

Groundwater accounts for over 97% of the world’s fresh water with over two million people depending on it for their Survival. In Africa, it is estimated that groundwater provides over 75% of the population with a drinking water supply, and has been said to be essential in securing equitable water access for the rural and urban poor around the world. It has been established that groundwater has a major role to play in achieving the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) for drinking water. Though very important, groundwater is not properly captured in national or international monitoring. As an unseen resource, it is easily forgotten, making it undervalued and not properly managed.

As an entry point towards the progressive and effective management of groundwater, I undertook a study on the challenges of water well drillers and drillers association in six countries – Angola, Burkina Faso, Mozambique, Nigeria, Uganda and the United State of America was carried out. I tried to understand groundwater issues within these countries from the perspective of drillers themselves. Drillers are in direct contact with the resource, and some have recognised the importance of having a drillers association.

As at the time of the study (2019) only three water well drillers association exist and were active only in Nigeria, Uganda and the USA. In the case of the others (inactive), there is an informal working group in Angola, an organised body in Burkina-Faso and Mozambique. Where they exist, drillers associations were an entry point to support national, international and local partners in groundwater management, were able to advocate and lobby for sustainable policies and realistic contracts. They also sensitised the public on the resource and helped reduce the presence of unqualified drillers from the sector.

In the study, I identified eight main challenges for water well drillers, namely – capacity, contracts and standards, procurement, finance and payment, corruption, data, logistics, and the availability of spare parts. I also learned about the advantages and disadvantages of having an association, as well as what makes them successful or not. A lack of clarity with respect to groundwater policies, and a lack of capacity by national institutions to implement policies or engage in groundwater monitoring was apparent in four (Angola, Burkina Faso, Mozambique and Nigeria) of the six countries.

So, what did the study reveal?

With the exception of the USA, there is a lack of capacity of drillers and national institutions in the countries studied. Drillers often lack the capacity to drill water wells in a sustainable way. In most of the cases, this is due to the absence of dedicated training institutions on groundwater issues or the inability of organised drillers association to engage in the development of its members.
Poor contract management, lack of transparency and corruption in procurement processes were mentioned. These have adversely affected the quality of drilled wells leading to a short lifespan of these wells. “Turn- key contracts” (Burkina Faso & Uganda), “No water no pay principle” (Mozambique & Nigeria) and “the gentleman’s agreement” (Angola) are some forms of poor contract identified. The client passes all, or most of the risk of finding water to the drillers – even in places where good groundwater resources are not easy to find.
Delayed payments by clients poses danger to the long-term viability of drillers’ businesses. This is a particular challenge in countries where the government is the major client (Angola, Burkina Faso, Mozambique and Uganda).
The absence or lack of groundwater data means underestimation of prices of drilling in certain terrains as well as drilling with uncertainty. The USA and Uganda are the only two countries with some form of groundwater data.
Drillers associations struggle to sustain themselves on a long term due to lack of finance resulting from low membership. In Mozambique and Burkina Faso for example, some drillers still do not see the need for an association while, there is no dedicated member to run the informal working group in Angola.
It was noted that there is a lack of transparency in existing associations except the USA. Leadership find it difficult and costly to be accountable to members and non-members alike.
Except for the USA, and more recently Uganda, the associations have not been able to engage in continuous capacity building, or training programs for its members. This has been identified as mainly being a result of lack of funds.

A major concern observed is the future of groundwater. In all six countries studied, it was found that there are very few or no young professionals in the field. This indeed put the future of groundwater development at a very high risk. In addition, very few women were observed to be in the profession.

From my work, I have two sets of recommendations:

In the short term, it is imperative that drillers association in other countries be investigated. Prioritise the establishment of drillers associations in countries where there are none and support rekindling inactive ones. The capacity of drillers and national institutions should be strengthened – advocate for compulsory internship programs on a continuous basis. Also, develop school curriculum on water with emphasis on ground water. Create a global platform for young professionals dedicated to training, learning, including internships with local firms.
In the long term, there is need to create a global platform for drillers, experts and institutions working on groundwater water issues in collaboration with existing institutions to learn and share best practices. Develop in study and exchange programmes, including creating mechanisms for international internships and volunteering.

I hope, that my study will help to inspire developmental organisation, funders, national institutions and above all drillers themselves to recognise the importance of using professional drillers and to support, and collaborate with water well drillers associations.

The study was carried out by Uyoyoghene U. Traoré as a volunteer for the Rural Water Supply Network (RWSN) under its 2018-2023 young professional engagement strategy. The full study can be downloaded here.

Srilekha Chakraborty uses art in her activism for women’s health – 2020 Ton Schouten Awardee for WASH Storytelling

re-posting from IRC WASH

Srilekha is a young professional from India with a focus on WASH and Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) advocacy with indigenous tribal women and girls.

Advocacy through art with rural communities

She is driven by her close experience with how in poor, rural areas, discussions on gender, menstrual hygiene and women’s health take a back seat. In many of her activities, she is using art to demystify taboos with adolescents and youth.

An example of what this type of approach can lead to is the story of two young girls – Zeba and Anjum – who made a model of a uterus with Gulmohar flowers during an art session that Srilekha conducted. The red colour symbolizes power, strength and period blood whereas the blooming flower represents good health.

Another art project of Srilekha links to the flagship campaign of the Central Government of India, Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, which promised to bring ‘Comprehensive Sanitation and Hygiene’ amongst people in rural India. However, the wall writings on Swachh Bharat Abhiyan have been speaking about toilet construction and cleanliness only. There were no wall writings about menstruation to encourage people to challenge the taboo. So, Srilekha mobilised artists and communities for a ‘menstruation matters’ mural project. You can read more about this project in her blog here.

Engaging local government and global platforms in period talk

Whereas engaging with communities is at the heart of her work, she also recognises the importance of government leadership. In 2019, she curated a campaign called Freedom to Bleed during the Independence Day in India. She convinced a local politician to help young girls actually experience freedom and independence from the stigma of blood. They reached out to more than 1000 women and girls in a week. The man speaking in the opening scene of the video below is the first political leader who ever spoke about periods in that constituency.

Srilekha is also dedicated to elevating stories from grassroots levels to as many people and platforms as possible. Through her #PeriodsPeCharcha (Let’s Talk Periods) campaign she addressed issues of indigenous remote communities in Jharkhand, a state in eastern India. In this video, she talks about menstrual hygiene challenges faced by young girls in the area.

About winning the Ton Schouten Award for WASH storytelling

In the words of our selection committee members – Vida Duti, Liduin Schouten, Sean Furey and Dave Trouba – Srilekha seems to do her communications work purely driven by passion and heart to help others, she naturally focuses on social inclusion and uses a wide variety of channels and forms of communication, from social media messages to videos and blogs.

In the words of Srilekha? See this video or read her response below it.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/fT7kNGITIAc

It is interesting that I win this award in a time that is technically one of the darkest of all we have seen as a generation. This award comes to me as a hope that there is a lot of work that is left to do and the show must go on! It will help me continue my fight on the ground.

I would like to thank all the organisations and mentors and the community people who supported me throughout my journey and made me someone worthy to receive this award, I am honoured and it will take some time to sink in.

While there’s a lot of fund-crunch that civil society organisations at the grassroots level are going through and projects on women’s health are receiving a severe blow, I wish to use this award money to reach out to the most vulnerable section of adolescents and youth and keep creating more art, storytelling and workshops on menstruation. Because periods don’t stop for pandemics and neither should our activism.
– says Srilekha.

What’s next?

We received a rich and inspiring selection of candidates, whom we’re hoping to continue to be in touch with throughout the year. Keep an eye on this page dedicated to all things Ton Schouten Award for information about the award and updates on the work of talented young communicators in the WASH community. Srilekha has shared some great ideas about what she is planning to invest her award prize in. We will also share updates on her activities on this page. So stay tuned.

A “C” diagram to identify Covid19 transmission routes

This is a guest blog by RWSN Member Rajan Pandey, WASH and Environment Expert in Nepal.

Colleagues and I have devised a “C” line diagram similar to the “F” diagram the global WASH community uses during ODF campaigns to identify transmission routes for feces.

A group of WASH volunteers here in Nepal prepared this for free use. Anyone around the world can use it or improve/ contextualize it as well to suit their need. Please free free to share feedback with Rajan Pandey as a comment to this blog.