It is with heavy hearts that we pause, not to let grief diminish the force of her legacy, but to honor the fierce, unyielding presence of a foundational architect of human right to water. Catarina de Albuquerque (1970–2025) was a tireless expert who leveraged her wisdom, courage, and political will to change the world’s most basic equation.
Catarina’s career was a masterclass in strategic advocacy, dedicated to transforming an ethical concern into a concrete, legally binding global objective.
For us, her most monumental achievement was her brave assumption of the role as the first UN Special Rapporteur on the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation (2008–2014). This work culminated in the unwavering declaration of the 2010 resolution by the UN General Assembly, formally recognising access to water and sanitation as human rights. This was a critical shift, forged by her bold conviction, that moved the issue from a development challenge to a State obligation under the international human rights framework.
Catarina didn’t just advocate for recognition; she focused on accountability.
She ensured these rights were explicitly incorporated into the global development agenda, successfully driving their inclusion in Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6): “Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.”
Her diplomatic force was also evident in her work presiding over the negotiations for the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (OP-ICESCR). This profound legal instrument created a mechanism for individuals to challenge human rights violations at the UN level, giving real teeth to economic and social rights.
As CEO of the Sanitation and Water for All – a UNICEF-hosted global partnership (SWA) partnership she continued to strategically mobilize high-level political will and financing, ensuring that policies prioritised the poorest and most marginalized, embodying the principle to leave no one behind.
For us, the Rural Water Supply Network (RWSN), especially the Leave No One Behind Theme, Catarina provided the intellectual architecture necessary to fulfill our mandate. She moved beyond theory to provide us with actionable tools for implementation, ensuring the human rights framework was specifically tailored for the rural frontiers where we operate. Her collaborations directly strengthened RWSN’s technical focus by embedding social accountability and equity into service delivery models.
Her influential work, such as the book On the Right Track: Good Practices in Realising the Rights to Water and Sanitation, provided the necessary guidance for countries to operationalize these rights, directly informing our approach to national policy engagement.
She actively engaged with RWSN partners, notably through joint events like the World Bank and RWSN Webinar on the Human Right to Water, demonstrating her enduring commitment to bridging high-level policy with grassroots, rural implementation.
This strategic alignment means our commitment to the forgotten is a globally recognised legal duty, a legacy of her unparalleled expertise.
Catarina’s life offers a potent vision for every generation that follows, proving that policy is the highest form of power.
To the Youth, she demonstrated that a deep, determined focus on law and strategic advocacy is the lever for world-altering results. You are not merely inheritors of problems; you are the architects of the future legal reality for water and sanitation. Your fresh perspective and moral clarity are essential to holding power accountable and securing human rights.
To the Women in Water, Catarina is the indisputable proof of what a courageous, intellectual, fiercely determined woman can achieve. She was the one who shattered the ceiling and demanded accountability, showing women how to transform technical expertise into unassailable rights-based mandates. Your leadership is non-negotiable; Wield your power and be bold in its assertion.
And to the Global South, she is a powerful, undeniable call. She is the proof that our rightful place is not just to benefit from global policy, but to lead, command, and enforce the international human rights framework that demands equity for our communities. Our local experience is the unshakeable moral anchor that must drive global social justice.
Catarina’s greatest gift was not the victory itself, but the enduring reminder that our work is never done. Her unwavering commitment lights the path ahead, and her words continue to set our highest standard:
“I encourage you to continue the critical work you are all doing in recognising water, sanitation and hygiene as fundamental for all.” – Catarina, 2020
We honour her memory not through sorrow, but through renewed purpose, transforming grief into greater effort, deeper dedication, and higher quality in all we do. Inspired by her fearless leadership and strategic brilliance, we celebrate the progress she secured and press forward, with determination and wisdom, until the shared vision of universal water access becomes a reality for everyone, everywhere.
Blog by Jeff Tan, Aga Khan University – Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations (AKU-ISMC). Featured photo: Hunza Valley, Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan, Jeff Tan
The limitations of community-based management (CBM), and the conditions for its success, were identified as early as 1990 in a World Bank discussion paper. From very early on, it was recognised that communities needed ongoing external support from donors, NGOs and governments. However, management training, capacity building, technical input, financial assistance, and supportive policy and legislation necessary to create an “enabling environment” for successful community management rarely materialised. This raises a number of questions: Why has this external support not been forthcoming? Why has community management continued to be promoted despite the absence of support and lack of sustainability? Why has there been ‘a reluctance amongst academics and practitioners to challenge the CBM model’?
To answer these questions requires some appreciation of the wider discourse on development and in particular the anti-state rhetoric of neoliberalism that has sought to downsize, decentralise and ultimately bypass government. This has had the effect of fragmenting and hollowing out the state while at the same time prioritising markets and the private sector. Given that there is no profit to be made from delivering water services to low-income households that cannot afford to pay cost-covering tariffs, it is not surprising that previous state failure was replaced by market failure, with the private sector failing to step in to deliver water services.
One obvious solution would have been to address the sources of state failure, specifically underfunding, fragmentation and the loss of technical capacity. Instead of rebuilding state capacities, the distrust of, and ideological aversion to, the state has shifted the responsibility of water services from governments to local communities, built around the narrative of community participation, empowerment and self-help, with communities expected to take responsibility of their circumstances. It is hardly surprising then that community management is seen to enable ‘government officials and donors alike to abdicate responsibility for ensuring long-term sustainable water services’.
The recent turn against community management, not least by the World Bank, shows the persistence of CBM problems. But the Bank’s promotion of “professionalization” of water services as an alternative reflects a failure to examine the underlying tensions and problems in the CBM model and the wider delivery of rural water services, and reinforces an anti-state bias and blind faith in private sector participation. There are three structural tensions in the CBM model that have been noted in the literature and that need to be more cogently articulated.
The first tension is between access to water and cost recovery (a cornerstone to the sustainability of CBM), with low tariffs (to ensure access to water) unable to cover operating costs, let alone major repairs and capital refurbishment. Compounding this is the inability of households to pay already very low tariffs, with irregular, if any, tariff payments or collections.
The second tension is the long-term needs of water services and the short-term horizons of donors and NGOs. Only the state has a sufficiently long-term horizon to provide the indefinite support needed to sustain community management and ensure ongoing water services. But this added burden on the state for this comes at a time when the state in lower middle income countries (LMICs) is severely constrained financially and technically, having had fiscal discipline imposed on it and broken up and hollowed out in the name of decentralisation and localisation. If governments do not have the capacity to provide the so-called “enabling environment” to support community management, as has been the case since 1990, then a model that requires continued external support that is not forthcoming cannot be sustainable, “islands of success” notwithstanding.
Finally, and perhaps most significantly, the funding model for CBM is short-term, project driven (rather than programmatic or cross-sectoral) and fragmented, where the needs of water services are indefinite, with the choice being between reaching a greater number of underserved communities in the short term or serving fewer communities but with longer term support and greater sustainability. Longer-term support is especially needed because communities cannot even finance major repairs let alone capital refurbishment needed at the end of the lifespan of water infrastructure (typically 15-20 years) and to expand services to cater for population growth.
These structural features of CBM can be illustrated in the constraints faced by an otherwise successful delivery of clean drinking water through piped water networks to 459 settlements serving around 48,000 households and over 400,000 people under the Water and Sanitation Extension Programme (WASEP) in Gilgit-Baltistan, northern Pakistan. The challenges of sustaining and scaling up this textbook implementation of community management are reported in the results of a two-and-a-half-year British Academy-funded research involving a large-scale household survey of over 3,000 households, interviews with water management committees and a review of financial records, focus group discussions, an engineering audit and water quality tests.
Unlike qualitative and selective case studies, the combination of quantitative and qualitative analysis here presents important insights into the resilience but also limits of communities in sustaining water services, particularly given weak state capacities and the lack of external support. It also highlights the importance of “hardware” (engineering and water infrastructure) in sustaining water delivery, and best practices in the implementation and delivery of water services that can transcend some of the limitations of the CBM model.
The views and opinions expressed in this blog post are those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the Rural Water Supply Network (RWSN) or its Executive Committee.
Jeff Tan is a Professor of Political Economy at AKU-ISMC and was Principal Investigator on a British Academy grant on the sustainability and scalability of community water management in Northern Pakistan.
The views and opinions expressed in this blog post are those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the Rural Water Supply Network (RWSN) or its Executive Committee.
A Walk Before Dawn
At five in the morning, Busia County, Kenya is still wrapped in silence. But Jeruto is already walking. Fourteen years old, barefoot, a yellow jerrycan pressed into her hip. Three kilometres to water, three kilometres back.
She knows this path by heart. She also knows it is never safe. Men wait in the shadows. The price of water is sometimes not money but dignity. By the time she returns, the day has already slipped away; half her classes gone, her body exhausted, her hope dimmed.
“I was afraid,” she says. “But what choice did we have?”
This is the reality of women and girls without drinking water supplies on the premises every day stolen by the simple act of survival. And yet, here is the cruel paradox; when decisions are made about water, women are nowhere in the room. They carry the heaviest burden but hold the least power. The sector is still led by men.
That irrationality is finally being challenged. In western Kenya, three men, yes, men are ripping up the old rules of water and power. They are saying: enough. Not with platitudes, not with empty gender policies that gather dust, but with radical reforms that change who gets to sit at the table, who gets paid, who gets promoted, who gets heard.
And the truth they have stumbled into is this; Gender equity is not tokenism. It is infrastructure. It is resilience. It is the difference between a girl chained to a jerrycan and a girl being educated.
When Water Becomes Opportunity
The revolution begins small. For Jeruto, it started with the hum of a drilling rig. Just metres from her school gate, the Lake Victoria North Water Works Development Agency (LVNWWDA) sunk a borehole. Water surged from the ground, and with it, time, safety, and dignity returned to her life.
The 3 hours she once lost on the road became minutes. Within a year, girls’ local schools’ attendance had risen by nearly 30 percent.
For Joel Wamalwa, the agency’s CEO, this borehole was not just a piece of engineering. It was a revelation.
“Water unlocks education, strengthens health, reduces risks of violence, and frees women’s time for work and enterprise,” he says. “When women are included in planning and leadership, water systems become not only more equitable but more sustainable.”
Water, he insists, is not only a service. It is a multiplier.
Joel Wamalwa, CEO LVNWWDA says water is a Multiplier, Photographer: Euphresia Luseka
The Paradox of Exclusion
And yet, Joel has spent much of his career staring at a contradiction that borders on absurd. Women carry the heaviest weight of water scarcity rationing supplies, absorbing the stress of breakdowns, managing survival when systems fail. They are the first to wake, the last to sleep, the ones who walk the farthest.
But when utilities gather to make decisions on staffing, on budgets, on infrastructure women are almost invisible.
“We made choices about them without them,” he says quietly. “That was not only unjust. It was inefficient.”
Trends come and go quickly in the WASH sector. When a new concept shows early signs of success, it is often promoted as the next big solution, packaged by development partners, donors, and foundations. These actors, in turn, push governments to adopt the latest approach, frequently triggering wide-reaching reforms with mixed results.
We have seen this cycle play out repeatedly: private sector participation, on-site sanitation, blended finance, carbon credits, and the list goes on. In rural water service delivery, the pattern is even clearer. Municipalities and local governments were once seen as the appropriate service providers. In the 1990s, the spotlight shifted to Community-Based Management (CBM). When the limitations of unsupported CBM systems became apparent, public rural utilities were pushed as a more “professional” solution. Today, Safe Water Enterprises (private companies heavily supported by international donors) are the rising stars.
These shifts are often driven more by the perceived failure of one model than by strong, scalable evidence of success from another. Governments are influenced to adopt new service delivery models, often initiating complex reform processes. Yet, the sector lacks solid evidence to prove that such reforms lead to better performance or more sustainable services.
A recent example comes from Ghana, where a now-concluded USAID-funded study sought to investigate this issue. The research compared three rural water service delivery models for piped schemes, aiming to identify what actually drives performance. This was especially relevant in a context where the Government of Ghana is increasingly backing service provision through the Community Water and Sanitation Agency, acting as a new rural public utility, while development partners strongly advocate for Safe Water Enterprises. Meanwhile, support for the still-widespread CBM model has all but disappeared.
Surprisingly, the study found small performance differences among the models. Performance outcomes were more closely linked to socio-economic context and the service provider practices than to the model itself. Although the findings are specific to Ghana, they raise a broader question: are we focusing on the wrong thing? Perhaps it is not about the model at all, but rather about how it is implemented and whether critical elements like professionalism, regulation, and accountability are in place.
This idea was reinforced in a recent webinar we hosted in April this year, where case studies from across the globe showcased how different models can succeed when implemented well and supported by an enabling environment.
Cambodia: Fully private rural providers invest in, operate, and maintain water systems, under government regulation and licensing.
Peru: CBM remains the dominant model in rural areas, but the sector is actively working to professionalize and regulate service provision.
Morocco: Public utilities manage rural service delivery as an extension of their urban mandates.
Senegal: A global best practice in public-private partnerships for rural water service delivery.
These examples show that success is not determined by the management model itself, but by the conditions in which it operates. Instead of chasing the next big trend, we should be focusing our energy and resources on strengthening the elements that matter most, regardless of the model. These include cost-reflective tariffs, regulatory oversight, accountability mechanisms, participation, professionalized staffing, and robust monitoring systems.
Let’s stop asking, “What is the right model?” and start asking, “What makes the model work?”
The views and opinions expressed in this blog post are those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the Rural Water Supply Network (RWSN) or its Executive Committee.
Fake Qualifications, Real Consequences: The Brenda Sulungai Case
Despite major gains in infrastructure and technology investments, Kenya’s water utilities continue to underperform often not due to a lack of funding or innovation, but because of the human capital crisis festering within. I have witnessed strategic plans, technological upgrades, and donor-funded initiatives collapse under the weight of a talent base that was never prepared or licensed.
This blog analyses the technical, legal and operational risks posed by weak certification systems, forgery, and unqualified staffing across Kenya’s water sector. It also proposes a plan for professionalising the sector, building institutional resilience, and restoring public’s vital trust.
The Pervasive Scale of Credential Fraud
“Every academic certificate in Kenya is now questionable. Forgery is happening across all sectors including those critical to life like water and health. We cannot ignore this anymore.” –Twalib Mbarak, CEO, Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC)
This stark statement captures the magnitude of Kenya’s credential fraud crisis as a structural failure that compromises public service integrity at scale as demonstrated in Box 1.
Box 1: Sector-Wide Credential Fraud Uncovered in National Audit
“This is systemic. There are falsified documents even at PhD level, dissertations are downloaded from the internet.” – Dr. David Oginde, Chairperson, EACC
Consequently, this is not simply a matter of individual misconduct it points to a systemic failure in verification systems, risk management, and institutional accountability.
The Grave Consequences: Incompetence Endangering Lives and Undermining Progress
The human capital crisis in Kenya’s water sector driven by systemic weaknesses in credential verification, licensing, and staff training is not only an administrative oversight but threatens public health and utility performance.
Sustainable transformation requires human capital to be treated as a core infrastructure asset.
Systemic Vulnerabilities and Their Underlying Causes
I. Governance Deficit: Institutional Decay Through Political Capture
Kenya’s water sector suffers from a foundational governance breakdown; WASREB, the national water regulator notes a few WSPs have structured HR policies, indicating systemic weakness. Other gaps include: Outdated job descriptions, Irregular or absent performance reviews and Non-existent competency frameworks.
“Staff appointments in WSPs are frequently driven by tenure, local allegiances, or political alignment rather than technical merit. This erosion of meritocracy is neither incidental nor benign; it is indicative of deliberate political capture.”— Charles Chitechi, President, Water Sector Workers Association of Kenya (WASWAK)
Even WSP BODs that are governance bulwarks, are compromised. Opaque recruitment, undertrained members, and entrenched conflicts of interest have rendered them susceptible to patronage.
This politicisation has real operational costs, including poor service delivery, stagnant capacity, and a rise in credential forgery.
II. Regulatory Void: Absence of Mandatory Professional Licensing
Despite being designated as Kenya’s 16 critical infrastructure sectors, the water sector lacks a national mandatory licensing framework. Unlike medicine or engineering, no statutory barrier prevents an unqualified person from operating a treatment plant. Training institutions exist, including KEWI, NITA, and TVETs, but certification is inconsistent, and unenforced. Most alarming is the absence of a centralised professional registry, allowing forgeries to pass undetected unless exposed by whistleblowers.
Kenya’s current policy approach enables fraud by omission. The lack of a licensing regime is not a gap; it is a deliberate vulnerability.
III. Investment Blind Spot: Human Capital as the Missing Infrastructure
According to WASREB, Kenya’s WSPs spend less than 1% of OPEX on staff training, compared to the 5%-7% benchmark in high-performing WSPs globally. This chronic underinvestment in people creates a compounding deficit: Stagnant skills lead to operational bottlenecks, Low morale drives attrition and disengagement and Poor efficiency increases non-revenue water (NRW).
“You cannot digitize your way out of poor staffing. At some point, someone has to operate the system.”
These figures make the business case clear. Training is not a cost; it is a strategic investment with measurable returns.
IV. Project Design Fallacy: Infrastructure Without Operators
Despite significant investments in tools such as GIS mapping, NRW audit software, and digital billing systems, Kenya’s utilities remain trapped in underperformance.
From experience, the primary reason infrastructure projects fail is they’re often designed for a workforce that does not yet exist. Few pause to ask: Who will operate, manage, and sustain these systems?
This leads to predictable implementation failures. Development partners often assume that technology adoption is a standalone solution, overlooking the critical human capability gap.
Table 1 Showing Summary of Systemic Failures and Strategic Fixes
Root Problem
Underlying Cause
Strategic Fix
Politicized HR and opaque recruitment
Governance failure
Independent oversight and merit-based systems
Weak mandatory licensing
Regulatory neglect
National framework aligned with global standards
Minimal training investment
Financial and strategic myopia
Mandated 5% OPEX for staff development
Failed technology implementations
Ignored human capacity gap
Capacity-first planning and project sequencing
Towards Resilience: Five Strategic Levers to Professionalize Kenya’s Water Sector
Kenya’s water sector is confronting a systemic talent crisis, addressing these challenges requires a structural response anchored in global best practices, informed by local constraints, and focused on long-term institutional resilience. This plan outlines 4 interlocking strategic levers designed to professionalize the sector and establish talent as a core infrastructure asset.
Lever
Core Insight
Priority Actions
Strategic Shift
Expected Outcome
Proactive Credential Verification
Shift from post-hire audits to real-time identity checks
Kenya’s water systems are only as effective as the people who plan, operate, and maintain them. As the World Bank warns, weak water institutions can turn climate risks into crises undermining resilience across health, agriculture, and energy systems.
The Brenda Nelly Sulungai case shows credential fraud is not just a governance lapse it’s a national risk multiplier. Amid climate stress and population growth, human error becomes infrastructure failure.
Reform must begin and end with people. Priority actions include:
Verifying identities and qualifications through real-time credential checks
Mandating professional licensing to close technical regulatory gaps
Investing in structured, ongoing training
Aligning performance systems with merit-based progression
Fostering a culture of accountability, technical rigor, and service
These steps reflect a central truth: talent is infrastructure.
Former President Mwai Kibaki, UNESCO’s Special Envoy for Water in Africa, put it clearly: “We need to commit ourselves to turning actions into real reforms… and together we can make Africa water secure and peaceful.”
With this blog, I would like to share a few short reflections from my experiences overseeing and supervising drilling activities over the past ten years, both from the contractor’s and the INGO/client’s perspectives.
Figure 1: Ayebale Ared on the field (Welthungerhilfe)
From the drilling contractor’s side – overseeing drilling operations
I was fortunate to work with a drilling firm that prioritized quality, accountability, and training. The work culture encouraged flexibility, allowing us to try out different drilling methodologies. One of the most valuable aspects was the emphasis on real-time logging and decision-making based on live site observations. As the overseer of the drilling operations, I had to be physically present in the field, equipped with a laptop, drilling logs, a handheld GPS, a tape measure, a V-notch Weir, a dip meter, an E.C & a pH meter, and a camera, to support real time supervision and technical decisions as drilling progressed.
There was no remote oversight; everything was site-based and collaborative. Communication within the team was strong both for daily updates and for collectively addressing any issues that had financial or technical implications.
At the time, our machinery could not compete for larger contracts, particularly those requiring the drilling of production boreholes with casing diameters larger than 5″ internal diameter (ID). While we successfully drilled several open-hole design boreholes, which are suitable for handpumps these cannot be upgraded to accommodate technologies such as solar-powered water systems (SPWS) due to initial design constraints.
Figure 3 (above) Water Sampling during borehole development showing decreasing turbidity (Source: Ayebale Ared)
From the Client’s Side (INGO) – supervising drilling
Switching to the client’s side offered me the opportunity to work with a range of drilling firms year after year. By then, I had completed the Rural Water Supply Network (RWSN) Professional Drilling and Borehole Management course (2019), and I was actively applying the knowledge in the field. I have worked with drillers with different equipment, resulting in more efficient drilling, constructing cased, rather than open holes. I also have had the chance to mentor and train new supervisors in professional supervision practices, proper borehole logging, and how to make sound real-time decisions at the site.
However, not all experiences have been positive
Remote, or part time supervision is common with a bigger percentage of the drilling firms I have worked with, often resulting in decisions made by drillers to minimize cost rather than address real-time field conditions which are not supervised in the field by the client. Some drilling firms opt for untrained, inexpensive overseers, which undermines the quality of work. As an example, many have no idea what real time logging is but just write a number of pipes and send short video clips to their bosses in office who make remote decisions. This usually becomes a challenge with the client’s supervisor ends up being painted bad as “a bad guy”. Without a qualified client supervisor on-site, the narrative of events can shift dramatically. I’ve observed poor siting practices, with boreholes positioned near anthills or trees leading to complex drilling challenges and post-installation issues such as silting, root intrusion, and compromised water quality. This has been subsequently verified through borehole video inspections and microbial tests. Additionally, poor gravel packing techniques have led to bridging, and inadequate borehole development has left screens poorly cleaned and functioning below standard.
These reflections underline the critical importance of professional supervision, well-trained personnel, good oversight by the drilling contractor, and appropriate on-site decision-making throughout the drilling process.
I hope these insights are helpful as we continue to improve and uphold quality in our water supply interventions.
Ayebale Ared has over 10 years of experience in the water sector, specializing in WASH programs, borehole drilling, and rehabilitation in Uganda. He has worked on both the contractor and client sides, gaining a well-rounded perspective on best and worst drilling supervision experiences and practices
The UN WWDR 2026 shall serve as a vital resource, illustrating how global trends and phenomena are reshaping gender dynamics in societies around the world. The interplay between conflict, migration, and gender equity in WASH reveals stark realities. In regions afflicted by conflict and instability, women’s safety and access to essential services are severely compromised.
The plight of women in conflict zones is further exacerbated by migration. Women and girls face an increased risk of sexual and gender-based violence during conflicts. Yet, amid these challenges, women remain indispensable agents of change—actively participating in peace-building, conflict resolution, and post-conflict reconstruction. This resilience highlights the need to recognize and harness women’s potential for positive transformation in their communities.
Migration and its intersection and climate change also alters traditional gender roles and expectations, as families adapt to new environments; it presents opportunities for economic independence and education, empowering them to challenge restrictive gender norms. Still Migrant women often encounter exploitation, discrimination, and limited access to resources, underscoring the urgent need to address these barriers.
Corruption emerges as another formidable barrier to WASH and gender equity. It restricts women’s access to essential services and undermines their participation in leadership and decision-making processes, as demonstrated in weaponisation of water. U.N. Women has called for urgent action to protect Sudanese women and girls, emphasizing the need for accountability in addressing high levels of sexual violence and exploitation. “We cannot let Sudan become a forgotten crisis,” asserts U.N. Women’s Addou, highlighting the critical necessity for action in conflict-affected regions.
On my blog on Diversity in Water sector leadership I emphasise the concerning underrepresentation of women. A World Bank report highlights that less than 18% of the workforce in water utilities are women and that two-thirds of sanitation leaders are white according to a FLUSH LLC publication that I co-authored. This systemic inequity reflects deeper societal structures, suggesting that without diverse leadership, the water sector risks stagnation and failure in meeting SDG6 targets.
“Gender equality is a fundamental human right and an obvious question of equity and fairness. But it is also a necessary foundation for sustainable development and a peaceful, prosperous world.” – Beate Trankmann, UNDP Resident Representative
However, the intersection of WASH reveals profound challenges that hinder the potential of women and girls in achieving equitable and sustainable development, within the realms of WASH. Cecilia Sharp, UNICEF Director of WASH and CEED, explains this by informing that “unsafe water, toilets, and handwashing at home robs girls of their potential, compromises their well-being, and perpetuates cycles of poverty.” She added, “responding to girls’ needs in the design and implementation of WASH programmes is critical to reaching universal access to WASH and achieving gender equality and empowerment.”
Since the emergence of gendered thinking in WASH in 1970s, the dialogue surrounding gender equity has evolved including a dedicated SDG 5 that envisions a world where gender equality is achieved and all women and girls are empowered. It targets the eradication of discrimination and violence against women, child marriage and female genital mutilation, and the recognition of unpaid care work. Furthermore, it emphasizes the necessity for women’s participation in decision-making and access to sexual and reproductive health services.
Water Scarcity and Gender Inequality: Exploring the Hidden Costs of a Thirsty World
The intersection of WASH and gender unveils unique challenges that disproportionately burden women and girls. As demonstrated on Graph 2 below, Research reveals that when water sources are not easily accessible, women and girls aged 15 and older assume the primary responsibility for water collection in 70% of households—an alarming statistic that starkly contrasts with the 30% of households where men share this burden. This reality not only highlights the entrenched gender roles but also raises critical questions about the time and energy expended by women and girls, which could otherwise be invested in education, employment, or health.
This multifaceted vulnerability contributes to a staggering increase in mortality rates among women and girls.
Brightening the Horizon: Positive Trends in Gender Recognition in WASH Initiatives
“In the landscape of gender recognition, a nuanced narrative unfolds—one that, while acknowledging persistent challenges, also celebrates the transformative strides women are making within the water sector.”
The forthcoming UN WWDR 2026 stands as a beacon of hope, poised to spotlight the remarkable achievements of women in this vital field. By illuminating their contributions and sharing success stories, the report shall aim not just to honour past accomplishments but to ignite inspiration in future generations of women aspiring to carve out their own paths in WASH careers. This acknowledgment is not merely celebratory; it is a critical step toward fostering gender equity in a sector that has historically marginalized female voices.
Senegal, for instance, has shown remarkable strides between 2015 and 2020, as highlighted in the 2022 SDG Gender Index by Equal Measures 2030. They improved on undernourishment (SDG2) and drinking water (SDG6). The Senegalese government, since adopting the Beijing Declaration, has actively championed gender equality. The introduction of a parity law for elected institutions in 2010 has positioned Senegal as a global leader, boasting one of the highest proportions of women parliamentarians in West Africa. This progressive move places Senegal fourth in Africa concerning gender parity in its legislative assembly. Complementing these efforts, the government has ratified several international conventions to bolster women’s rights and developed a National Strategy for Gender Equity (SNEEG 2016-2026), to ensure equitable participation of both genders in decision-making and access to resources.
Such positive trends in gender recognition in WASH, have spilled into the political arena particularly women’s activism; Hon. Anne Désirée Ouloto—dubbed ‘Maman Bulldozer’ lead transformative efforts in WASH initiatives in Côte d’Ivoire. Presiding over a monumental US$1.2 billion investment in sanitation and drainage in Greater Abidjan, her work exemplifies the profound impact of female leadership in WASH sector.
Moreover, Women are not just participating but breaking barriers, challenging norms and stepping into leadership roles, shaping policies, and driving change by making their voice heard. Indonesia’s Retno Marsudi, who serves as the first UN Special Envoy on Water, exemplifies the vital role women play in global discourse on water issues.
As the waves of time crash upon the shore of progress, a mighty force is rising. These waves carry the strength of female leaders, revolutionising the Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) sector. To mark another milestone in the pursuit of a sustainable future, the upcoming United Nations World Water Development Report (UN WWDR 2026), will shine a spotlight on a critical yet oft-overlooked aspect of the global water crisis: the inextricable link between gender and water, illuminating a path towards a more sustainable and equitable future. UNWWDR 2026 is not merely an echo of problems, but an inspiring melody of change, empowerment, and sustainable future.
Alongside the progress, we also confront persistent gaps. Gaps that threaten to undermine our hard-won achievements, forming a path that recognizes the interconnected nature of WASH-related challenges and the need for inclusive solutions.
Terms like sex and gender may seem straightforward but their nuances hold profound implications for how we perceive and address WASH and gender issues. UNICEF definesSex as the biological and physical differences between women and men while Gender as socially constructed differences in attributes and opportunities associated with being a woman, man, girl, or boy and to the social interactions and relations between women and men. Woman refers to biological females according to UNOHCR. In my view this affirms the gap in the context of WASH statistics where WASH data is often disaggregated by sex, but rarely disaggregated by gender.
Imagine a world where the simple act of accessing safe WASH does not dictate one’s ability to attend school, earn an income, or live a life free from danger. A world where our mothers, sisters, and daughters are not disproportionately burdened with the responsibility of fetching water, but are empowered managers and change agents in WASH initiatives. For more than two billion people around the globe, particularly women and girls, this is a distant reality. The latest stark metrics reveal a concerning reality: despite progress, millions of women and girls worldwide still lack access to safe WASH services, hindering their empowerment, health, and economic opportunities. This world, although still a distant reality, is one we must strive for, beginning with a deep understanding of the water-gender nexus.
The gendered impact of inadequate WASH access is not just a reflection of biological differences, but a manifestation of socially constructed disparities. It serves as a stark reminder that water is not just a women’s issue – it’s a human issue and Graph 1 below illustrates these realities.
Graph 1 Proportion of households in which women, men, girls and boys are primarily responsible for water collection, by country, selected surveys where at least 10% of households collect water, 2012–2022 (%) Source UNICEF and WHO, 2023
UN Water’s dictum concurs and aptly captures that “Water is a human right, not a privilege,” this blog series embodies a bold commitment to upholding the rights of all.
The upcoming UN WWDR for 2026, aims to bridge this chasm by placing gender equity at the heart of WASH management and sustainability discussions. It stands as a pivotal blueprint for understanding the critical nexus between water and gender, presenting an urgent call to action for policymakers, practitioners, and stakeholders dedicated to fostering an inclusive, equitable, and water-secure world. By weaving together, a rich narrative of data, case studies, and expert insights, the report shall transcend mere enumeration of challenges to celebrate the resilience and ingenuity of women who are at the forefront of change within the WASH sector. It shall compellingly argue that embedding gender equality and social inclusion into water policy and practice is not just a moral imperative but a pragmatic necessity for achieving all SDGs especially SDG 5 and 6. Statistical evidence revealing the extensive failures of undervaluing women’s expertise in WASH management will be juxtaposed with success stories of women-led interventions that have illuminated pathways towards peace, prosperity, and sustainability. As the report critically examines the barriers that women and girls face in accessing safe WASH, it shall highlight the detrimental impacts of gender disparities in decision-making roles, pushing the narrative beyond mere awareness to active transformation. With a focus on fostering gender-responsive approaches in the WASH sector, the UN WWDR 2026 shall serve not only as a repository of insightful analysis but as a clarion call for disruptive change, intended to inspire dialogue and galvanize global commitment towards a future where equitable access to safe WASH is a universal reality.
Nearly 30 years ago I began my first steps into a career in Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) in Guatemala. In the morning mist, there was the dull clank of the school bell. It was an old bombshell that had been dropped on the village at some point during the thirty-year civil war. On that day it was guiding children to lessons. The clothes of the people, particularly the women, were amazing. Incredibly colourful and ornately woven, and each is distinctive to that community.
Today, my job is a different type of weaving, but no less colourful. In my previous post, I described how we, as RWSN and SuSanA, have been working with the Multilateral Development Banks, bilateral aid agencies, NGOs and researchers to weave a new narrative for rural WASH – one of learning from each other to achieve universal and lasting access.
But success doesn’t come from top-down actions only, there also needs to be a meeting with bottom-up energy, experience and initiative. Thanks to the support from SDC and IDB, through the SIRWASH project, we have had the opportunity to connect and listen to what regional practitioners are interested in and find ways to collaborate.
On 24 October, our partner, Lourdes Valenzuela from Aguatuya/SuSanA Latinoamérica co-hosted an online meeting with fellow WASH networks: “Conversatorio virtual: Escuchando las voces del sector de agua y saneamiento rural en Latinoamérica” (Online Conversation: Listening to the Voices of Rural Water and Sanitation Leaders in Latin America)
This 80-minute session, co-hosted with COLSAR, connected experts from diverse backgrounds to identify current sector demands and innovative approaches for improving rural water and sanitation management.
Themes and Objectives
The session, moderated by Marcelo Encalada from LatinWASH, sought to:
Identify essential knowledge areas and skills for strengthening rural water and sanitation services.
Explore digital tools and resources that could improve access to critical knowledge.
Examine the role of digital platforms such as SuSanA and LatinWASH in promoting sustainable solutions.
Rural Water Supply Network - blog 