By Bethlehem Mengistu (Agenda for Change), Catherine McManus (The Water Project), Kerstin Danert (Ask for Water)
BACKGROUND
Whether the starting point is a broken pump or a fragmented WASH system, one truth connects Stop the Rot and Agenda for Change: you cannot deliver safe, sustainable water services without both construction quality and resilient systems. Both platforms involve partners in government, civil society, funding agencies, the private sector and academia; both are striving to improve rural water supply services, and yet they are different.
Agenda for Change is rooted in systems strengthening
Stop the Rot is concerned about the quality of infrastructure.
This blog brings us together – one social scientist, Bethlehem (Agenda for Change) and two engineers, Catherine (The Water Project) and Kerstin (Ask for Water Ltd) from Stop the Rot. It explores where our work converges, where it differs, and what practitioners across the sector can learn from this intersection.
INTRODUCING AGENDA FOR CHANGE AND STOP THE ROT
Kerstin: So Bethlehem, can you explain what Agenda for Change is trying to achieve, and how it works?
Bethlehem: Thanks, Kerstin! I appreciate that we are having this conversation because while broken pumps are easy to spot, broken systems are not. That’s where Agenda for Change comes in.
Think of us as the people behind the scenes, making sure the whole rural water “machine” works-not just today, but five, ten, twenty or even thirty years from now. That means working with governments, utilities and communities to strengthen everything from planning and policy to budgeting and monitoring. And we achieve this by incentivising collaboration and supporting collective action. Our members and partners work together in countries, sharing tools, aligning around government-led plans, and learning from one another. We believe that when organisations coordinate and work in harmony, lasting change occurs.
Right now, Agenda for Change has 20+ members working across more than 60 countries with local and national governments to build strong, resilient WASH systems that can withstand the test of time and climate shocks.
Whether it’s helping a district government to develop a realistic water budget, supporting a utility to track service levels, or training local technicians to maintain infrastructure, our goal remains the same: to ensure everyone, everywhere, has access to sustainable water and sanitation services.
Bethlehem: So Kerstin, can you tell me about Stop the Rot?
Kerstin: Stop the Rot and its members are concerned about the flaws and gaps that lead to poor quality boreholes and pumps – which in turn contribute to poor performance and even failure of water supplies.
A core component of Stop the Rot is its Action Group, currently comprising over 90 members from all stakeholder groups. We meet online every quarter, share experiences, challenges, successes and – especially learnings. The meetings provide a safe and supportive space for dialogue on ways and means of ensuring quality infrastructure. Our geographic focus is sub-Saharan Africa, with our technical focus being services that rely on boreholes and handpumps.
MORE THAN TECHNOLOGY
Bethlehem: OK – so Stop the Rot is really interested in technical questions – as in about the technology?
Catherine: We do often start there, but it’s not where we end. It is tempting to think that an engineer will just focus on one broken pipe in one well. But as an engineer, I am asking if that broken pipe is corroding, and if so, is it because the material is not suitable for the groundwater (in technical terms – galvanized iron (GI) installed in aggressively low pH water, or stainless steel of the wrong grade)? Or is a pump seal wearing because there are fine particles in the water (typically a problem of a poorly constructed borehole). These are examples of a technical diagnosis.
And then, beyond this technical diagnosis, I am asking: why did that happen? Were high-quality materials not available in local supply chains, or were they considered too expensive; was oversight of the borehole construction process lacking? And the real question – what can I do about any of that?
Sure, at Stop the Rot we are concerned that repairs or rehabilitation to get water flowing are done, but we are also aware of systems approaches. I think the problem is that we need to better wrestle with those issues – or connect to those who can! That’s why I am so glad to be more connected to Agenda for Change. It can feel really difficult to focus on contextual issues when faced with a broken piece of infrastructure, but we must do just that – and we’re thrilled to be embarking on this exchange with Agenda for Change.
Bethlehem: I am also excited that we are exchanging on this, because right now, system strengthening is more urgent than ever. With global aid budgets under pressure and climate risks rising, we can’t afford to hold on to silos. Systems strengthening isn’t just a nice idea, it’s essential. It can support countries to build resilient water services that don’t rely forever on external funding or quick fixes.
And here’s where I think Agenda for Change and Stop the Rot intersect: infrastructure is not separate from the system, it is part of it. But infrastructure alone won’t deliver services. It must be supported by financing, regulation, monitoring, skilled personnel, and local ownership. We need to look at infrastructure through the lens of the whole system, the interplay of all the other parts. That’s how we move from short-term fixes to lasting solutions.
THE INTERCONNECTIONS BETWEEN SYSTEMS AND INFRASTUCTURE
Kerstin: I fully agree, Bethlehem, the infrastructure and the system are interconnected. As you know, if water supply systems are not properly constructed in the first place, they underperform, fail, and can even be impossible to repair or rehabilitate. Infrastructure needs to be right at the outset. Somehow better mechanisms are needed which consistently incentivise quality – such as policies and practices that prevent the installation of rapidly corroding components, or contracts which ensure that quality boreholes are always constructed.
DIAGNOSIS
Kerstin: Bethlehem, does Agenda for Change encourage systematic diagnosis for the reasons for failed or poor quality infrastructure?
Bethlehem: That’s an important question Kerstin, and it’s honestly one of the biggest challenges in the WASH sector. The truth is, broken taps and empty water tanks are often just symptoms of deeper, systemic issues.
At Agenda for Change, we aim to identify root causes – whether that’s poor planning, lack of oversight, underfunding, or weak accountability structures. Systematic diagnosis is fundamental to our approach. Our building block Strengthening Wash Systems | Wash Agenda for Change and political economy analysis tools Political Economy Analysis toolkit | WaterAid are amongst some of the core tools we apply to unpack the underlying causes affecting sustainable services. Our members apply this diagnostic tool in collaboration with governments and local partners to pinpoint weak areas in the system, often through joint sector reviews, service delivery assessments, and WASH system mapping tools, and then develop strategies together to address them sustainably.
Catherine: Thank you Bethlehem. Absolutely – the problem with broken infrastructure is that there are so many causes, and as you rightly note, underlying causes and root causes for these. By exploring these aspects together, we can surface where our perspectives overlap and where additional dimensions – such as governance, financing, or accountability – need to be drawn into the discussion.
Building robust, lasting infrastructure often depends on getting the institutional environment right – things like having a reliable local supply chain for parts, trained mechanics nearby, and local policies that hold service providers accountable for performance, not just for building something once. Construction quality isn’t just about better materials or better contractors – it’s about better systems that plan, monitor, and sustain that infrastructure long after it’s been built.
THE ENGINEERING BASICS
Catherine: So, how does systems strengthening deal with the engineering basics?
Bethlehem: The engineering basics can’t be skipped. If a borehole is badly sited or poor-quality materials are used, no amount of “system” will make it work in the long run. From our perspective, that’s exactly why systems strengthening and engineering quality go hand in hand.
When we talk about systems it is inclusive of the technical fundamentals. We are creating an environment where those fundamentals are consistently applied. That means procurement processes that don’t cut corners on materials, policies that mandate drilling supervision, budgets that include the real costs of quality construction, and accountability mechanisms that make sure contractors and service providers deliver on standards.
In other words, systems strengthening is what helps ensure that “getting the basics right” isn’t dependent on the luck of a good contractor or the passion of one project manager, but is baked into how the whole system functions.
Kerstin: Thanks Bethlehem I do think that many of our colleagues in Stop the Rot would appreciate this recognition that the technical concerns we deal with are not being ignored!
So, as we close the blog, I leave a question for our readers – how do we get on with tackling these issues in practice, and collaboratively?
Rural Water Supply Network - blog 